Pokémon Legends
by MightyMightyena
Summary: Everyone knows everything about pokémon, right? What moves they can learn, who they can breed with, what they are capable of, etc. But what do we truly know about legendary pokémon, apart from the basics? Not much. But one man plans to change that, by becoming the first pokémon professor dedicated to the research of legendaries! Full of adventure, mystery, friendship, and sarcasm!
1. Act 1, Prologue

**Prologue**

Snow was lightly falling through the mid-December evening as James Wilson Senior and his wife Elisa strolled leisurely along Sinnoh's Route 201, with their son, James Junior running around them as they walked.

"It was nice seeing your family again," James Sr. said to Elisa, taking her hand into his.

"It was, we don't come out here often enough," she replied, returning his grip.

They had been happily married for six years now, and their five year old son meant the world to them. Despite their different backgrounds and origins, it was love at first sight. And even though James Sr. wasn't a native to Japan, he was welcomed into Elisa's family with open arms.

"Daddy! Mummy! Lookit, a pokerman!" Their son squealed in excitement as he pointed at a wild Bidoof that emerged from the treeline. It regarded the humans with a blank look, tilting it's head in what looked like curiosity.

"Don't get too close, James! It might be dangerous!" Elisa called out in concern, as James Jr. started to wander close to the wild pokémon.

"Relax, it's just a Bidoof. It's not gonna do any harm, and besides, I've got an ex-regional Champion as a wife to protect our boy," her husband said, pulling Elisa in close and rubbing her hand affectionately, as she prised her eyes away from her son to briefly look up into the eyes of her love.

And in that brief moment, the Bidoof scampered off back into the treeline, and as young James made to follow it out of childlike curiosity and wonder, he caught a glimpse of something amazing just within the gaps of the trees.

It was a pokémon unlike anything young James had ever seen before. It was big, as big as his parents, and in a similar shape to his father's Herdier, but sleeker and less hairy. And it was also a shade of light blue, with a white underbelly, and had a strange thing on it's head and wavy things that looked like paper streamers that his cousins would run around with.

James stared in awe at the magnificent beast, and as he began to slowly approach it, it quickly turned it's head to stare right back at the human child. James froze, and he uncertainly but curiously met the pokémon's gaze. It lasted barely a second, before the pokémon seemed to huff and turned its body around so fast James had blinked and missed it, seeing only its rear end as it pranced away, deeper into the woods.

With his focus now solely on the mysterious pokémon he had seen, young James took off after it, stumbling and wobbling as he tried to run after it through the snow and over the tree roots.

It was at this precise moment, that Elisa looked away from her husband and back to where her child had been not a moment ago, only to find that James Jr. was no longer in sight.

"James?" She called out, letting go of her husband's hand as he noticed the worried look on her face. "James, where are you?" She called out again, but no response.

"James, you okay buddy?" James Sr. called out, scanning the treeline where he and the Bidoof had been.

"James?!" Elisa called out, more frantically this time, as she walked towards the trees, trying to see if she could see her son.

"Herdier, emergency!" James Sr. shouted as he pulled a poké ball from within his coat out and threw it in the air, bursting open and releasing a stream of white light, that struck the ground and solidified into his most loyal companion.

"Our son has gone missing, see if you can catch his scent!" JAmes ordered as he caught the poké ball. With a bark his Herdier nodded and began to sniff the ground and air, trying to find the right scent.

"I looked away for just a second and he was gone! He was right there! What if that Bidoof did something? What if-" Elisa's panicked stream of words was interrupted as James Sr. pulled her into a comforting hug.

"It's alright, we'll find him. He can't have gone far, why don't you send out your pokémon to help search?" James said as he rubbed her back soothingly, Blinking back tears, she nodded and pushed away from the hug, grabbing three of her own poké balls and throwing them out onto the path.

With three more flashes, three more pokémon appeared, this time a Ninetales, a Garchomp, and a Luxray. "My friends, my son has gone missing! Please, go find him!" With cries of determination and acknowledgement, they started to move out to begin searching, when Herdier's barking drew everyone's attention.

"What is it boy, you got his scent?" James Sr. asked, to which his Herdier barked in affirmation. "Great! Lead on!" Another bark, and HErdier was running off into the trees, with his owner, Elisa and her own pokémon not far behind.

Meanwhile, young James was still trying to catch up with the strange but awesome pokémon, which swiftly pranced and leaped around the trees and over roots with serene grace and beauty. He lost sight of it, and after a few minutes of blindly running through the forest, he emerged from the trees out upon a small snowy bank next to a vast lake, with a small island in the middle. And standing upon the island was the strange pokémon, in all of its mysterious beauty.

Staring wide eyed in amazement at the creature, James saw it turn to look at him once more, it's strange purple hair and the white streamers flowing as if a gentle gust of wind was moving them, despite the fact that the air around the lake was unnaturally still.

Looking down at the surface of the lake, James Jr. saw that the water was frozen solid, and realised that he could cross it to reach the pokémon. With a brave step, he placed a foot upon the ice. It as somewhat slippery, but he was able to keep his balance. Placing his other foot on the ice, he slid a little and frantically windmilled his arms to try and stay upright (just like he saw on a cartoon), which seemed to do the trick.

Slowly, he started to move forward, being careful not to slip too much on the ice. As he began to cross the frozen lake, the pokémon watched wide eyed as the human child dared to cross the ice to reach it. Young James glanced up briefly at the pokémon to see if it was still there, and it was, watching him in what he thought was fascination. But the pokémon was watching him not in fascination, but in slowly growing horror.

Without warning, just as james had took another step on the frozen water, his foot fell through a patch of very thin ice, cracking the area around him as his leg plunged into the icy cold water. Gasping in fear and panic, he fell forward onto the ice, cracking it even further. Parts of it broke away, and he found himself suddenly slipping backwards and underneath the surface of the freezing water. It was so cold, his chest became very heavy and he found himself unable to breathe in or out, gasping in a silent, panicked scream. His thick winter clothing only served to weigh him down and along with the inability to swim, he sank deeper and deeper into the lake.

As his vision blackened, he saw something plunge through the surface above him. Although it was fuzzy, it looked sorta like the pokémon he had been chasing...

* * *

After some time, Herdier led James Sr. and Elisa through the forest and out onto Lake Verity's shoreline, emerging on a small natural embankment. Seeing his Herdier indicating that the scent trail went over the frozen water, James Sr. froze.

"JAMES!" He shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to direct his voice across the lake, but the response he got wasn't from his son, but his wife.

He spun sharply on the spot as Elisa screamed in horror, and he quickly saw why. Further down the embankment was their son, lying motionless on the ground, and right behind him was... a Suicune?!

"JAMES!" Elisa ran forwards, not caring about the powerful legendary standing just beyond her son. She fell to her knees as soon as she was near, grabbing her child and hugging him as tears flowed down her face. Her pokémon rushed forwards also, taking up defensive positions in front of their trainer and glaring daggers at the Suicune.

James Sr. quickly joined his wife, and tried to check his vitals, but Elisa's grip made it almost impossible. "Honey... give him here." He tried to gently take him out of her hands, but she held on tighter. "Elisa! I know you're upset but let me do my job!" He shouted, shocking his wife into silence. She turned to stare at her husband, tears still falling down her cheeks, before glancing back at their son.

"Okay..."

"Thank you." James Sr. carefully took his son into his own arms and checked for a pulse, before examining his face. "He's got no pulse, and he's damp and freezing. He must've fallen through the ice!" He surmised, staring down at his only child in shock. "He needs immediate medical attention! Where's the nearest hospital?" He asked Elisa, who was looking even more distraught.

"J-j-jubilife City!" She cried.

"That's too far away! _Dammit_ , we'll never make it in time!" James Sr. could feel tears of his own threatening to escape, and he quickly squeezed his eyes shut. That's when the Suicune spoke.

'I can take him there,' it said, using telepathy to speak the words directly into their minds. Elisa looked up, finally acknowledging the legendary's presence, as her grief stricken face twisted into one of pure hatred.

" _YOU_! You did this!" She shouted in fury as she stood up, pointing threateningly at the legendary.

'Indirectly, but yes. It is my fault your child fell through the ice. I am sorry to have let it happen, but I can save him, if you allow me to take him to this hospital.'

"NO! You're not taking my baby! Garchomp, attack!" The Suicune managed to nimbly dodge the dragon pulse sent at it by Elisa's Garchomp, leaping over their heads and landing behind them, next to father and son.

"Elisa, don't! None of our pokémon can get there fast enough, and an ambulance would take too long! Responsible or not, this Suicune is our son's only chance!" Standing up with his son cradled in his arms, he turned to the legendary. "Please hurry, take him as fast as you can to the hospital in Jubilife. Tell them what happened." Elisa watched with growing fear and grief as her husband gently placed their son upon Suicune's back. After making sure he wouldn't slip off, the legendary quickly ran off, leaping across the ground in great bounds and at an incredible speed.

"Wha... _what did you do_?!" She screamed at James Sr., causing him to flinch.

"I did what was best for our son! If he fell into freezing water, then time is of the essence! If you're not quick enough to get them proper medical treatment at a capable facility, then they're as good as dead. Suicune are a fast pokémon, allowing it to take our son to the hospital may have just saved his life!" He snapped back, making her flinch. Pulling out two poké balls, he returned his Herdier and released his Unfezant. "Let's go, we need to get to Jubilife ASAP."

As his Unfezant grabbed him by the shoulders, Elisa quickly returned her Ninetails and Luxray, before climbing onto her Garchomp's back. Together, they set off in the direction of Jubilife, with James flying through the air and Elisa traversing the ground.

There was only one hospital in Jubilife, and it served as a center for all critical human injuries. While clinics and pokémon centers were capable of treating any human injuries, any serious and life threatening cases had to be directed to the nearest hospital.

* * *

After arriving in front of the hospital, James and Elisa quickly returned their pokémon before crashing through the doors of the hospital's main reception. They ran to the main desk, barging past the queue of people already waiting and surprising the receptionist.

"Our son should've been brought in by a Suicune! He was suffering from hypothermia due to cold water exposure!" James explained quickly to the receptionist, who paused for a second before turning to type on a computer.

"Yes, he was brought in... ward 3, second floor. Ask for a Doctor Sail."

"Thanks!" With that, they rushed off towards the nearest elevators.

After reaching the second floor, and following signs for the correct ward, they entered and went straight for the nearest nurse's station.

"We need to see Doctor Sail! It's about our son!" JAmes asked the nurse at the station, who nodded and quickly dialed a number on the phone on the desk. Within a minute, a man in a white medical coat strolled over, cleaning his glasses with a pocket hankercheif.

"Can I help you...?" He started to ask, glancing between the couple.

"We were told to come here, our son was brought in by a Suicune."

"Ah! You must be the boy's parents! Come, follow me." Gesturing them to follow, he led them down the ward to a small private room, where the door and curtain were closed. Pushing it open, he allowed James and Elisa to enter, and as they passed through the door, they saw their son lying on a hospital bed with a Growlithe resting across his body. On the opposite side of the bed sat the Suicune, watching with an unreadable expression as James and Elisa ran to their son's bedside. "He was brought in just in time, we were able to resuscitate him and bring his core temperature back up. He'll make a full recovery."

Taking their son's hand between both of their own, James and Elisa sighed in relief as they stared at their son, who rested peacefully on the bed.

After some time, the couple finally addressed the Suicune in the room, who had been waiting patiently at the opposite bedside, only it's mane and tail were moving.

"Thank you." Elisa spoke first, staring at the legendary with untold gratitude. "Thank you for saving our son. I'm sorry for acting rash earlier... that was wrong of me, I'm sorry."

'It is I who should be seeking forgiveness. I allowed the boy to follow me, and I did not expect him to try to cross the frozen lake to reach me. If I had acted sooner, or if I had never showed myself in the first place, this unfortunate incident would never have happened.' It bowed it's head in shame, as it began to explain what had happened at Lake Verity. After it had finished reciting the events at the lake, it turned to look at them once more. 'I do not expect forgiveness, but I will try to make it up to you and your son.'

"What happened was an accident. If anyone was to blame, then it would be us for not keeping a close watch on our son." James spoke, giving the legendary a reassuring smile.

"It was tragic, what happened, but don't ever think of it as your fault. An even if you do, saving our son was more than enough to make it up to us." Elisa added.

'If you say so...' the Suicune seemed to mutter uncertainly, returning it's gaze back to the floor. 'I shall remain until the boy awakens, and then ask for his forgiveness, too.'

' _If he forgives me..._ ' the Suicune added as a thought, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the slumbering child.

* * *

 **Fifteen Years Later...**

It was well past three in the morning, and James Wilson Junior was hard at work at his computer, scanning webpages, saving images, copying walls of text, and memorizing maps. The twenty year old had been doing what he called "research" ever since a fateful (and near fatal) encounter with the legendary beast Suicune. Little did it know at the time that upon his awakening, it had sparked an interest inside the young child. One that hungered for knowledge, knowledge about pokémon. But not just any pokémon, oh no.

James Wilson Junior, one-time regional champ, aimed to become the best researcher of legendary pokémon that ever existed. Ever.

The only obstacle that stood in he way of his dream, however, was his dear beloved mother.

"JAMES ARTEMIS WILSON." His mother all but shouted as she threw open the bedroom door. "What have I told you about this late night 'research' you are doing?!"

"Don't use it as an excuse to view explicit content...?" He said nervously. Despite getting on in years, Elisa Wilson was still as fearsome as she was back when she was the champion of Sinnoh. A fact she regularly exercised upon the family household.

"Well, yes, there's that. And I also said to _not_ do it! You need to sleep and staring at a screen like that all night will only damage your eyes! Now go to bed, before I get Garchie to unplug your computer." With that, she closed the door on the thoroughly scolded Wilson. Sighing, he powered his computer down, making sure to save everything, before walking over and collapsing into his bed.

"Snitch," he grumbled to the room's only other occupant, and from the shadows emerged a Gardevoir.

'Can't prove _anything_ ,' said the Gardevoir smugly, and even though James couldn't see it, he _knew_ it was sticking it's tongue out at him.


	2. Act 1, Chapter 1

**Don't expect this to be updated with any sort of frequency. This is just an outlet for me when I'm stuck writing my other original works. Thus the plot is not thought out and purely random.**

 **DISCLAIMER: this work of fiction is by no means sponsored, endorsed, or accepted by Nintendo and Game Freak. Canon Pokémon, canon locations, and canon characters are owned by Nintendo and Game Freak, any copyright infringement regarding these assets are not intentional. Any likeness of characters in this work of fiction to persons living or dead is _purely_ coincidental. This is a non profit fan work for the sole purpose of entertainment. All original characters belong to me.**

 **Mighty Mightyena Presents**

 **Pokémon Legends: The Fountain Of Youth**

 **Chapter One: The Adventure Begins!**

Nestled amongst the copses and the hills, deep within the heart of the county of Yorkshire in the country of England, was a small farm. It was comprised of several fields, three large barns, a quaint farmhouse, and a small garage. This was the farm that the Wilson family owned, having bought it almost twelve years ago. Life there was simple, but fun. Their son was able to grow up around pokémon just like they wanted, they had a steady and quiet life, and they all got to spend time with not just each other, but with their pokémon, too. Grazing in one of the fields was the farm's herd of Miltank, which they milked regularly. Flying in and out of one of the barns were multiple Combee, having made their hive inside the wooden structure.

Several hours later, not long after the sun had risen over the horizon and had bathed the land in a golden glow, James was awoken from his slumber by his alarm clock, using the recorded screech of a Zapdos to wake him.

He lifted an arm and tried to hit the snooze button, managing to get it on his third try, before tucking himself back under the covers. Which were thrown off of him mere seconds later by a burst of psychic energy.

'Rise and shine, you big Snorlax,' Sis the Gardevoir said via telepathy as she gave her brother in all but blood a cheerful smile.

"Let me sleep..." James moaned, keeping his eyes shut and curling up into a ball on the bed. Sis' smile evaporated into an annoyed frown as she lifted James up into the air.

'If you don't get up I'll just throw you into a nice cold bath. How does that sound?' She asked sweetly, despite the frown. James opened an eye and glared at his Gardevoir.

"I hate you."

'Oh, I didn't know it was opposite day today!' She lowered him back onto the bed, as he shot her an irritated scowl. Rolling his eyes, James unfurled himself and got out of bed, shuffling across his room and out into the hallway, heading in the direction of the bathroom.

Hearing him open then slam the bathroom door closed, Sis let out a sigh as she picked up the Suicune-patterned bed cover and began to make the bed. Once she was done, she gave the room a quick glance around to see if anything was out of place. All the posters of legendary pokémon were untouched, the drawers and wardrobe full of clothes were clean and where they should be. She pointedly ignored the computer that sat in front of the window on a small desk. She didn't mind it, it was what it could be used for that irked her so much.

With a nod to herself she vanished in a flash of light, teleporting out of the room and into the kitchen where James' mother was busy preparing the breakfast for the farm's pokémon. She was working at the breakfast counter, with all the cupboards and kitchen appliances situated behind her. The room was moderately sized, big enough for a Tyranitar to fit in, and had enough space for twenty people to stand comfortably.

"Good morning, Sister. Is James up yet?" Elisa asked as she poured a golden syrup-like substance from a jug into a large bowl.

'Good morning, and yes he is. He'll be down soon.'

"Ah, good. I hope he actually got some sleep last night. Or should I say 'this morning?'" Sis nodded at Elisa's question, as she used a spoon to scrape the remaining syrup out of the jug. "I really wish for him to stop chasing legends and get an actual job..." she said with a sigh.

"Don't be hard on the lad. If he wants to be a pokémon professor, then thats what he'll be." Sis and Elisa turned to the larger than average kitchen door that led outside, where James Sr. was entering with a stack of bowls, followed by their son's Machoke.

"But a professor of legendary pokémon? Not only is that silly and impossible, it's also dangerous!" Turning to face the sink, Elisa ran some hot water into the jug as the Machoke set his pile of bowls down on the counter, before picking up the bowl of syrup and carrying it outside.

"The same could be said about becoming the national champion of England, but that didn't stop you from letting him go on _that_ journey," James Sr. replied matter-of-factly as he set his own pile of bowls on the counter. Elisa turned back round to face her husband, glaring.

"You know that's a different case!" She protested, picking up a few bowls from one of the piles and dropping them into the sink.

"What, because _you_ yourself were a champion at one point, and you wanted your son to follow in your footsteps?! Or is it different because he lost in the top 16?!" James Sr. retorted hotly, making Sis wince at the jab.

"Who lost in the top 16?" As all three heads turned so fast to face him, James Jr. thought they had broken them. Giving his parents and Gardevoir a questioning look, he lowered the sheet of paper in his hand.

"Me and your mother were, ah... _discussing_ your trip tomorrow." James' eyes narrowed as he gave his father a suspicious look, who was suddenly looking quite nervous while his mother was hanging her head in embarrassment.

" _Right_ , right..." Unconvinced, James backed out of the room and headed across the spacious hall to the living room just left of the front door. Heading in, he headed over to the leather sofa, vaulting over it's back and crashing down upon the cushions.

It wasn't long until his father and Sis joined him, with Sis sitting on the arm of the sofa and his dad in his armchair next to the television. Deciding not to look at either of them, he busied himself by reading what had been printed on the paper.

"What'cha looking at, son?" His father asked, leaning forwards slightly, trying tosee what was printed on the paper.

"It's my list of legendaries that would be near enough impossible to meet. I just updated it before I went to bed," he replied, shrugging.

"Oh? Did you take anyone off?"

"No, I added another one. Kyurem."

"Kyurem? Er, which one's that again?" James glanced at his father, before sighing and moving to sit properly on the sofa, allowing Sis to shuffle onto the free cushion.

"Kyurem's the third wheel of the Tao Trio. You know how Zekrom and Reshiram are known as yin and yang?" Receiving a nod, he continued. "Well Kyurem is known as wuji in Taoism, the absence of both yin and yang. You see, according to ancient legends, Kyurem, Reshiram and Zekrom were at one point all one creature, a fierce dragon. Now, at some point this dragon came under the control of two brothers. When their philosophies about truths and ideals clashed, the dragon was said to have split into two because of this, thus creating Zekrom and Reshiram. Well, Kyurem is apparently what remained of that original dragon after the split. Reshiram became the embodiment of truth, Zekrom became the embodiment of ideals, and Kyurem is what's left when you strip both of those away from a person."

His father blinked slowly as his son finished his somewhat confusing explanation. He stared blankly at his son, whose expression changed from the pleased, intelligent look he had whenever he explained his research, to a deadpan one.

"You did not understand most of that, did you?"

"Sorry, son. I'm sure it was really interesting, though!" His father said, trying to sound reassuring, but James waved him off.

"Nah, it's alright dad. I probably could've worded that better."

"Well, alright. But you're not going to try and find that thing, are you? It sounds pretty dangerous."

"Dad, I wouldn't even know where to begin!" James exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. "There's almost no information about it at _all_ , apart from the main legend- which is speculative at best -and some fleeting mentions in ancient Chinese and Japanese myths. I doubt it's ever been sighted by anyone in the modern world, which is why it's on the list. At least I know where some of the others are, like Dialga. I just can't reach them. But this guy..."

"Jirachi level of difficulty?"

"More like Arceus. So don't worry, I'm not gonna find this one any time soon. Actually, I doubt I'll _ever_ find it." His father nodded in understanding, standing up and giving his son a pat on the shoulder as he walked past.

"Ah well, I'm sure there are plenty more for you to find, which are easier, and a lot safer..." he said as he left the living room.

"I didn't know I was talking to mum this entire time!" James called over his shoulder, and his dad let out a bark of laughter in response. Turning to face his Gardevoir, who was maintaining her usual neutral expression, he smiled. "Let's go see the gang. I still need to pick whose's coming with us tomorrow..."

* * *

"Alright guys- _Betsy_! Get over her- no! Don't roll away!"

In the middle of a field that was a part of the farm, James stood with his pokémon standing around him in a circle. Well, most of them. His Miltank, Betsy, was busy rolling around as she usually liked to do, making circles around the group, which wasn't properly organised to begin with. His Machoke- Muscles -and his Sandslash- Drew -were talking to each other, smiling and laughing softly as Drew presumably told a joke. His Seadra, Seabiscuit, was hopping on the spot, looking thoroughly irritated that she had been forced out of the pond she liked to swim in and relax. Pup the Mightyena was yawning as he settled himself on the ground, rolling over onto his side so he could bathe in the warm glow of the morning sun. Lightning the Pidgeot was preening the primaries of her left wing, occasionally giving the Vespiquen, called Majesty, a sour look. Majesty in turn, was pointedly ignoring Lightning. Sis just sighed, remaining at her spot where she had been next to James before he moved, giving the whole group a 'I can't believe this is happening' look.

"BETSY!" James shouted angrily as he ran right in front of the Miltank's path, instantly alerting half the group that James was in immediate danger of becoming a pancake. Sis instantly raised her arms and used her psychic powers to stop the rolling Miltank dead in her tracks, just as Muscles had ran over to James, ready to push him out of the way if needed. "Guys, I had it under control!" He protested, earning a hot glare from Sis.

'If you wanted to test the strength of Betsy's rollout, then you _totally_ had it covered,' Sis replied hotly, with Muscles nodding in agreement. The Miltank in question had just been released from the psychic hold, allowing her body to unfurl and collapse on the ground. Lying on her stomach, Betsy shot Sis a scowl that dared her to try that again.

"Well, now that _everyone_ is finally paying attention, let's get this over with." The rest of his friends gathered round him in a haphazard circle once more, all of them watching James expectantly. "As you all know, I'm going on a trip tomorrow to Castelia City in Unova for a week, and I still need to decide who I'm taking with me." This grabbed the full attention of the gathered pokémon, as they all leaned in closer in anticipation, except for Betsy who simply glowered at the grass in front of her. "Anyone interested in coming?"

Immediately, all of the pokémon raised a hand, claw, wing, or hopped excitedly. Betsy halfheartedly raised an arm in a lazy wave before it fell limply to the ground again.

"Uhh, I think Betsy's out..." James murmured uncertainly. The Miltank in question let out an indifferent moo. "Okay then. Muscles, you're coming." Muscles grunted excitedly, giving his trainer a thumbs up.

"Hmm... you know what? Majesty. You're going." The Vespiquen buzzed excitedly, much to the irritation of Lightning. "And you too, Lightning," James added in resignation. She chirped happily in response as she gave her wings an excited flap. Majesty shot her an annoyed glare.

"It's been a while since you've been out Drew, you're in." The Sandslash nodded gratefully, otherwise staying nonchalant.

"And of course, Pup and Sis just _have_ to come, so I think that's about it." Whilst those chosen were excited to be travelling once more, the others sighed in disappointment, looking somewhat sad that they weren't picked but they accepted it anyways. Sis nodded at the team selection, throwing Majesty and Lightning a stern glare that said behave or else. "So sorry to the rest of you! If something comes up and I have to stay there for longer than a week, which I'm hoping for, then I'll switch the teams round. Everyone okay with that?"

Only Seabiscuit was the one not happy with the arrangement, snorting in disappointment and looking down dejectedly. Noticing this, James walked over and knelt beside the water type. "Sorry about this, I promise to switch you in as soon as I can, alright?" As he patted her head, she seemed to perk up a little, but not by much. "I know it's boring sitting on the sidelines doing nothing, but since Majesty joined the party someone has to stay behind. And honestly, I trust you the most to keep my folks' spirits up whilst I'm gone." Giving her head one last pat, he stood up and saw his words did have an effect. She still seemed disappointed, but not as much now.

"Right!" James shouted to his picked team as he stood back up, clapping his hands. "Let's get some exercises done to make sure you lazybones are still in shape! Come on then!"

'Don't forget that you still need to pack for the trip,' Sis pointed out as James started to give out instructions to his team.

"Don't worry, I won't!" He shouted back in response before turning his attention back to his team.

* * *

On the opposite side of the world, high above the surface of the ocean, a colossal airship descended from the clouds. Shaped like an old zeppelin from long ago, it slowly lowered itself to a point several hundred feet above a small, solitary island. The island itself was devoid of vegetation or signs of life, and the only feature apart from the rocky landscape was the rusted wreckage of some sort of large craft, scattered across the island.

On the bridge of the airship, men and women in naval uniforms moved about the room using the many and various controls, passing notes and messages between their stations and a person at a communications console as they worked.

"We have arrived at Lightning Island. No radar contacts." One of the crew reported from her station, the panels and screens in front of her showing all sorts of sensory data of the island and surrounding waters.

" _Good, ready the capture rig and party favours. And while you're at it, bring up an enhanced view of that wreck, if you please?_ " In the center of the bridge, the profile of a man could be made out, sitting in a motorised wheelchair with a metal casing covering all of his body except for his head, which was completely covered in a plastic gas mask style respirator with a hose running from the mouthpiece to the rear of the chair. A pair of opaque, glowing eyelets were the only other feature on the helmet, one lit with a piercing red glare while the other a soft amber.

"Aye, sir." Another woman acknowledged from behind the man, typing in a command at her terminal. A holographic display phased into view in front of the man, showing a close up view of the wreck.

" _Ah, the Flying Palace. I'll say this about dear old Lawrence, he certainly knew how to build an airship._ "

"Party favour deployed and loaded. Ready to fire upon your command, sir." The woman from behind him said, her finger poised over a moderately sized red button with 'fire!' printed on it in black.

" _Fire at the center of the wreck. Hopefully we'll hit something valuable._ "

"Aye aye, firing." With that said, she jammed her finger down upon the button.

On the exterior of the airship, a panel on it's underside had folded away, revealing a small cannon-like turret which had lowered itself down, it's barrel pointing at the heart of the wreckage on Lightning Island. With a resounding _BOOM_ and a fiery cloud of black smoke, the cannon fired it's load upon the wreck, the projectile detonating upon impact. The resulting explosion sent metal fragments all over, with the metal at the very center dented and warped form the heat of the explosion.

Almost immediately afterwards, a piercing, electrifying shriek bellowed out from the smouldering wreckage, almost as if it was an angry response to the airship's attack. All of a sudden, a portion of the wreckage that wasn't damaged by the explosion began to shift, before being violently thrown away as a yellow bird shot out of the opening it had created, arcs of electricity dancing off of it's feathers and striking the rusted metal framework.

" _There you are! And a feisty one at that! Standby on the capture rig, whilst we give our new friend a present._ " The man ordered with a slight chuckle, the red eyelet of his mask seeming to brighten in amusement.

Angered by the attack on it's home by a flying human craft, the Zapdos of Lightning Island gave another irritated shriek, before firing a bolt of fierce yellow lightning up at the airship. The bird of thunder gave a slight smirk at the airship as the lightning bolt struck it's surface, but it was quickly wiped off as the attack appeared to have done little more than scorching the hull.

It was so dumbfounded by the failure of it's attack, it didn't notice the barrel of the turret turning to aim at it's chest. With another loud boom, the turret fired again, it's projectile striking the legendary square in it's chest and detonating, enveloping the surprised Zapdos in a fiery explosion. With a cry of pain, the bird fell from the sky, falling down and crashing upon the wreck it had called home.

* * *

Deep underwater, far enough where even sunlight couldn't penetrate the murky depths, a powerful legend stirred. It had felt the harmony of the world's natural forces being shattered once more. Using it's immense powers, it could sense that humans were once again the cause. Opening it's eyes wide in determination, it kicked off from it's resting spot on the ocean floor, shooting off along the ocean's currents towards the isles of Shamouti.

* * *

The man in charge of the airship watched with supposed eagerness, as the holographic display showed Zapdos struggling to stand, it's chest smouldering from the impact of the shell. He could even make out small red drops of liquid, that would occasionally fall from the wounded creature. The amber eyelet of the mask seemed to flash in what would appear to be regret, or pain, but that quickly vanished.

" _Deploy the rig. Let's be as quick as possible before the other birds or the legend of the sea come to see what's up._ " He barked, with the bridge staff around him affirming his orders. He watched as three metal rings floated down, escorted by two Magnemite. The magnet pokémon used their magnetic limbs to control the rings descent, and as the Zapdos was attempting to recover from the airship's brutal attack, they guided the rings down and over the legendary's body. With a spark of power from the Magnemite, the rings began to spin around the now ensnared bird of thunder, lifting it off of the ground and up into the air.

"Sir, radar contact! It appears to be a Lugia, emerging from the ocean and heading straight for us!" The woman on the radar station reported with a hint of worry and urgency.

" _Darn, I had hoped for more time. Turn us about, let's give the legend of the sea a little gift while we get what we need._ "

The colossal airship slowly began to rotate, the turret swivelling to face the newcomer, as the massive white and blue form of Lugia the guardian of Shamouti burst out of the ocean in a spray of water, his large hand-like wings unfurling as he hovered in the air facing the airship.

Another boom, and another projectile was fired, screaming rapidly downwards towards the legendary. In response, it opened it's mouth wide to let out a powerful stream of water. The hydro pump struck the projectile, causing it to detonate and sending steaming water all over.

As it began to ready an aeroblast attack, another boom echoed around the area and Lugia had to quickly scrap the move for a quick psychic barrier, which the projectile struck and exploded, forcing it backwards several feet.

" _Keep up with the barrage! And tell the rig team to hurry it up, but make sure they get every ounce of power! Drain it down to it's last volt, we need all the energy we can harvest!_ " The man snarled, as the airship shuddered slightly from another blast of the turret.

Outside, Lugia deftly dodged another blast from the airship's weapon, the aeroblast it had been working on coming up to full power. Letting the sphere of blue energy in it's mouth reach it's peak, it gave the airship a hard glare before firing. A beam of brilliant blue shot out and struck the hull of the airship, sending it listing dangerously to one side. However, it was so caught up in firing it's attack it did not see the next blast from the airship until it struck Lugia squarely in the face, sending it reeling backwards and the aeroblast to go askew.

Bringing a wing to cover it's face, Lugia was left exposed to another blast, catching and detonating upon his chest. With a pitiful wail, the majestic beast slowly fell towards the ocean, with one last blast striking it in it's back just before it hit the water.

"Lugia has taken three direct hits! It appears to be retreating beneath the surface!" The radar officer reported over the blaring klaxons of the bridge, as the crew ran around trying to keep the airship afloat.

"Rig team reports that they've got all the energy they could from the Zapdos without killing it, it's being returned now!" Another officer shouted, and amongst the chaos on the bridge, the man sat unmoving, the red eyelet glinting dangerously.

" _Brilliant. As soon as the rig is back on board, make haste to Castelia City, full speed._ " The man said calmly, seemingly unfazed by the battle. He watched as the holographic display showed the two Magnemite lowering the Zapdos trapped in the three rings to a point a hundred feet above the island. With a spark, the rings stopped moving, letting the injured legendary fall through the gap and down to the island, where it hit the ground hard with a loud smack.

As the Magnemite moved the rings back up to the airship, Lugia emerged from the ocean once more, it's determined gaze now replaced by a look of pure fury. Bringing it's wings together in a clap, it sent a torrent of sea water rushing up rapidly to the magnet pokémon and the capturing rig, engulfing them in the water. Lugia's eyes began to glow a bright blue, as the torrent of water around the rings and Magnemite became infused with the legendary's psychic energy. With a flash, the water turned to ice, instantly trapping Lugia's prey.

Letting the ice fall into the ocean, it glanced up at the human airship in time to see another projectile screaming rapidly towards it. Raising a wing, it tried to cast another psychic barrier, but wasn't quick enough and the projectile struck the limb, exploding violently and covering the limb in fire and smoke. Dropping beneath the waves again, the legendary watched from beneath the surface as the human airship, with it's hull dented but still intact after Lugia's aeroblast, began to manoeuvre off, rising higher and higher until it disappeared amongst the clouds.

Grunting in pain, Lugia allowed itself to sink to the ocean's surface, glancing at the wound on it's wing. The human projectiles had been more powerful than it had expected, being able to wound it and even causing it to bleed in places. Narrowing it's eyes at the spot where the airship had been, Lugia gently began to float through the water, disappearing into it's murky depths.

* * *

"Oh bloody hell!" James shouted in panic as he ran across the field back towards the farmhouse, leaving his somewhat bewildered team behind in his dash for home. "I totally forgot to pack!"

'I did tell you not to forget.' Sis' telepathic voice said matter-of-factly to his mind with an accompanying sigh.

"Yeah well, I did!" James replied loudly to the area around him, just as he reached the fence that separated the yard from the fields. He tried to vault the wooden barricade using his momentum to help propel him, but lost his grip on the fence and promptly tumbled to the ground on the other side. "Ow..." he groaned from the floor, as Sis teleported next to him.

'Smooth,' she said, helping James back onto his feet with her powers. Linking her arm with his, she initiated a teleport and they vanished in a flash of light and a faint _whunf_ , reappearing instantly inside James' bedroom.

"Right!" James said as he removed his arm from Sis' and rushed over to a large rucksack propped up against his wardrobe, tossing it onto his bed. "Gotta pack clothes in here, and all my research stuff can go into my satchel." He explained as he grabbed his 'satchel', a bag not unlike something one would carry a laptop in with a shoulder strap, from beside his desk and threw that onto the bed also. He then began to gather up sheets of paper and books of both the reading and writing variety, using his mouth to hold several pens.

'I've got the clothes covered. Do you want to take the fancy suit too?' Sis asked as she levitated articles of clothing from the drawers and wardrobe over and into the rucksack neatly.

"Mmmrrrfrrfll." James tried to say through the half dozen pens in his mouth, but all he got was Sis giving him a pointed look. 'Oh, right. Yeah sure,' he thought loudly, allowing his telepathic partner to read the mental words as he tried to aggressively but carefully stuff paper into the satchel.

'Done. I packed everything you need for the trip, now to sort out my things.' Turning her head to face the _other_ , much smaller wardrobe next to and compared to James', she opened it and brought out a few of her meagre belongings. Looking at what she was doing, James was reminded of a conversation they had many years ago...

 _ **FLAAAAAAAAAASHBAAAAACK!**_

" _So, why_ do _you need a wardrobe again...?" A fifteen year old James asked his Kirlia sister in all but blood as they watched James' father attempt to build the small piece of furniture from his bed._

 _'Because, I might decide to wear clothes someday. AND I want to keep my possessions separate from yours.' She telepathed back to him as Wilson Senior wrestled with one of the doors trying to fit it onto it's corresponding hinges._

"What _possessions?! All you have is a scarf, that little pink sling bag of yours and the Ball." James replied, giving the Kirlia a dubious look. "Also, you want to wear clothes?"_

 _'I might...' Sis replied as she pointedly avoided making eye contact with James. 'And I have more stuff than that! I have my trading card collection!'_

" _Most of which was mine in the first place!"_

 _'AND I have that trophy from the church dancing competition!'_

" _That's on the fireplace downstairs!"_

 _'I could put it into the wardrobe if I wanted to!'_

" _Children, behave." James' mother spoke from the doorway as she leaned against it, watching her husband engage the wardrobe door in battle once again. "Jim dear, your trying to put it on upside down."_

" _What? Oh. Bloody Swedish instruction manual...!" James Sr. grunted as he rotated the wood door one-eighty degrees._

" _No dear, the_ cabinet _is upside down."_

" _What?!" Grabbing the instructions, James Sr. frantically glanced between the diagram and the wardrobe several times, before slowly lowering the manual, a vein on his neck twitching._

 _James Jr. And Sis both broke out into fits of laughter._

* * *

"So what exactly _are_ you taking?" He asked as he watched Sis close up her over-the-shoulder strap bag, which had replaced her old pink one some time ago.

'Y'know, stuff.'

"Uh huh..." James muttered, giving her a dubious look but otherwise letting the matter slide. "Hey, can you take some of my research stuff into your bag? I need to fit the laptop in here somehow. Like a book or two or something."

'I'll see what I can do.' Grabbing James's satchel, she removed a book and a digital camera and managed to fit them inside her own bag. 'Try now.' She told him, as she levitated the bag back over. After half a minute of wrestling the laptop inside the bag, James was eventually able to push it in completely and zip up the bag.

"Great! I can just about fit this, anything else is small enough to travel in pockets so that's good." Taking a step back, he glanced over at the large rucksack stuffed with clothes and any other necessities. "I think we're packed. That didn't take long at all!"

Taking a seat on the bed, he let loose a deep sigh as Sis perched next to him. "We're actually going to Unova. Freaking _Unova!_ A place so steeped in mythology and history, it's incredible! Just think of all the legendaries we could possibly meet there!" Glancing over at a picture of a Reshiram with fire swirling around it pinned above Sis's bed, he smiled broadly. "My first time going abroad for field research, and my mother isn't going to be watching my back!"

'Just remember the _real_ reason we're going on this trip,' Sis pointed out.

"Oh yeah, Chris and his motor racing. Yeah sure, whatever." He said dismissively, making Sis roll her eyes.

'This will be _fun_."

* * *

The next day, the family had risen early to catch the train down into London. Returning his selected team members back into their Poké Balls, James, Sis and his parents headed to the station in the city and rode the express to the capital. After navigating the London Underground, James and Sis found themselves standing just thirty meters away from Heathrow Airport's check in desk.

"Well, this is it." He told the group as he glanced at the surprisingly short queue, then back at his parents. "Unova awaits."

"Now remember that talk we had on the train; don't go physically chasing after legends, and don't miss your return flight!" His mother told him, flashing a stern glare before smiling serenely again.

"Yes mum." James sighed as he gave her a hug, before turning to his father.

"Good luck son, and even though we don't want you straying out of Castelia, if you see a legendary in the city, then by all means go for it!" His father said encouragingly as he handed his son a folder with the flight documents inside.

"Don't encourage him to be reckless!" She scolded her husband, giving him a not so gentle punch to the arm.

"Sorry, dear."

'James and I should go, check in will close soon.' Sis told the group, and they all quickly said one more round of goodbyes with hugs and kisses.

"Okay, we're off! See ya mum and dad!" James called to them as he started to walk away.

'Bye human parents!' Sis added as she waved them farewell, gliding alongside James.

"Be safe honey!" Elisa said loudly, successfully reeling back the tears that threatened to gush out.

"Have fun!" James Senior added, wrapping an arm around his wife.

"Jim? I'm starting to regret this." Elisa told her husband softly, her smile faltering as she turned to face him.

"I know dear, I do too slightly. But we can't keep the lad cooped up at home all the time! He needs to go outside and spread his wings, doing something he enjoys and strives for."

"But what if he gets hurt chasing after another legendary? He'll be so far away..."

"That's why Sister was given to him, remember? To protect him and help him. And you know what she's like; she's not about to let him go charging across another frozen lake."

"Yeah, you're right. I should have more faith in them." They leaned into each other, as they watched their son and his guardian wait in line to check in.

"Do you think that Suicune still comes round every now and then? It seemed so upset over what happened." She asked him.

"Maybe, it's a big world out there. Anything can happen..."

* * *

"Hi!" James greeted the airline staffer who was seated behind the desk.

"Hi, you two flying with us today?" She asked with a kind smile.

"Sure am!" He replied as he handed her the flight documents. Taking them out, she proceeded to scan them into her system for a few minutes.

"Alright, your documents are all in order, and we have confirmed your seats on your flight. I wish I could go with you though, Miami sounds nice this time of year!"

"Yeah!" His smile faltered for a second, as he processed what the woman said. "Wait, what."

'We're not going to Miami, we're supposed to be flying to Castelia, in Unova.' Sis explained to the woman, who frowned and looked at the documents.

"Oh, my bad! Looks like you'll be grabbing a transfer on another airline at Miami!"

"To Castelia, right?" James asked.

"No, I'm afraid that one takes you to Saffron International, in Kanto Japan."

" _What._ "

"Then it looks like you transfer again there, and that flight from Saffron will take you to Unova. Those transfer flights are covered by different operators though, so you'll have to check in again at Miami and at Saffron. Didn't you know all this?" She asked.

"No, I _didn't_." James muttered, turning round to glower at his parents, but they had already left.

'How long will all that take?' Sis asked.

"In total? About 37 hours."

Sis quickly clamped a hand over James's mouth before he could scream expletives into the air.

* * *

"You know," James Sr. began to say as they rode the Piccadilly Line train back into London. "Maybe we should've told him about the flight plans."

"I didn't want him to be even more angry at me than he is already," Elisa replied. "Besides, it's his own fault for saying he had no preference on the route when he asked us to buy the tickets, and this was the cheapest route so we've saved some money off of it."

"He's still going to be annoyed when he gets back."

"He'll probably forget all about that. I just hope he decides to come back..."

* * *

 **What I said about this not going to have a plot?**

 **Yeah, I lied.**


	3. Act 1, Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Big City, Big Trouble**

"Next time we fly international, _I'm_ booking the flights." James spoke aloud as he slumped into the plastic bench at one of Saffron International's departure gates. At least two dozen other people were already waiting at the gate to board the flight to Castelia, some of whom had pokémon with them.

'At least we got to spend some time in Miami, and here in Saffron too.' Sis pointed out. James gave her a vague shrug.

"I guess... we didn't get much done though."

'Well, at least we got to see the sights, right?'

"Yeah, that's true." Sitting up straight, he gave Sis an eager smile. "But we're almost there! Unova is just a flight away now!" He collapsed back into his seat. "I am so tired..."

'I told you to sleep on the last flight, but you _had_ to watch a film marathon.'

"It was Star Wars! I needed something to kill the time and I had never seen the sixth one before! I wasn't going to pass that opportunity up."

'If you don't sleep on this next flight, I'll use hypnosis on you.'

"You wouldn't dare...!"

Sis gave him a look that said 'try me', and James backed down.

" _Fine_ , I'll try to sleep on the flight." Sis gave him a pleasant smile in response as she gently patted him on the head. James scowled at her.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, watching more people come and sit in the waiting area for the departure gate. Keeping to themselves, James decided to pull out his Pocket Guide to Pokémon and look up some entries inside, whilst Sis silently observed everyone around them.

"Oh, cool! That guy has a Gardevoir!" Someone shouted excitedly, but the duo ignored it. To Sis, it sounded like a little kid that had just glimpsed a rare pokémon, which was not an unfamiliar reaction to her. The kid that spoke however decided that observing form a distance wasn't enough, and ran up to them with a pokémon hot on his heels.

James slowly lowered his book and gave the kid a neutral expression. "Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yeah! I want a pokémon battle!" The kid demanded, pointing at James with the boy's pokémon mimicking his pose. James blinked, glancing at Sis and giving her a look of disbelief.

"We're in an airport, kid."

"So? My flight isn't leaving for another ten minutes! Let's go!" James sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"Look, kid-"

"Jeremiah!" A young girl shouted to the boy as she approached, followed by two others. Jeremiah flinched and turned around to look at the girl.

"What now? And my name is Jerry!" He replied hotly. The girl scowled at him.

"You can't have battles in an airport, it's against the law." She told him, and he huffed.

"Well, that's a stupid law!" He said in annoyance, as the girl stepped around him and approached James.

"I'm terribly sorry for Jeremiah's-"

" _Jerry!_ "

"*ahem*, _Jeremiah's_ behaviour, sir. I hope we haven't bothered you too much." She spoke cordially and politely to James, giving him a small curtsey. Judging by her soft, almost aristocratic voice and her expensive looking dress, James deduced that she was form some sort of upper class upbringing, whereas the boy Jerry looked like he just started as a trainer, wearing plain shorts, shirt and cap.

"Oh, it's no bother at all! In fact, I would love to have a good pokémon battle if we weren't in an airport." James explained, giving them all a polite smile, which was replaced by a look of surprise when he saw the pokémon next to the girl. "Is that an _Absol_?" he asked, eyes widening.

"It's alright! He's not-" the girl began to say in panic, but faltered as James leapt out of his seat and knelt in front of the disaster pokémon, which regarded James with curiosity.

"He's beautiful! Such a gorgeous pokémon!" James exclaimed, examining the Absol closely, before looking up at the girl. "I've always wanted to meet one, they're such extraordinary creatures!"

The girl let loose a sigh of relief, before regaining her composure. "Well, how fortunate we came along, mister...?"

"Oh, I'm James Wilson Junior, but call me James. And the Gardevoir over there is Sister, Sis for short." The psychic in question waved to the group silently.

"It is a pleasure to meet you James, my name is Felicia. You'e already met Jeremiah-"

"It's Jerry!" Jerry shouted, stamping his feet angrily as his pokémon compatriot sniggered.

"Next to him is his Monferno. Then we have Alex and his Espeon, Starburst; my older brother Justin and his Gallade, Arthur. And you've already met my Absol, Aaron." Felicia explained, pointing to each individual in turn. James and Sis shared a frown.

"Pleasure to meet you all, but I don't see no Gallade..." he said. Felicia merely pointed behind him, and both he and Sis turned to see a Gallade had been standing behind their bench with a calculating gaze, making them both jump.

"Blimey, he's a sneaky fellow! Nice reference by the way," James said to Justin, who gave no sort of response.

"And that's all of us. We do have more pokémon on hand, but due to airport security laws they have to stay inside their Poké Balls." Felicia told him, to which James nodded in understanding.

"I gathered as much. I have a team with me too, but likewise I'm under the same rules." Turning back to the Absol named Aaron, he couldn't help but smile again. "He really is a beautiful pokémon, can I pet him?" He asked Felicia.

"I don't see it as being a problem, go ahead." Smiling ever wider, he gave Aaron a gentle pat on the head.

As soon as his hand touched the fur of the Absol's head however, the pokémon's eyes went wide and it's mouth slack-jawed, before howling in fear and back-pedalling away at great speed from the surprised Englishman.

"Whoops...?" James muttered unsurely to himself, as Sis rose from her seat and Aaron went to hide behind Felicia.

"Whoa, Aaron freaked out!" Jerry said, as Felicia tried to calm the trembling Absol down.

"That was most peculiar, why did he do that? He's such a calm and gentle soul," Felicia thought to herself as she managed to ease the fear from her Absol.

"Uh... I think..." Alex began, shifting the Espeon he held in his arms to just one arm as he pulled out a red box, which flipped open on command. "Y-yeah, when an Absol comes into contact with another human or pokémon, it can sometimes sense any disasters or tragedies that are about to befall them."

"Dude..." James muttered in shock, standing up and looking out of the window next to them at the planes and the runway. "I'm about to board a plane, and an Absol had a panic attack when I touched it. This is surely a sign."

'Maybe we should skip this flight and wait for the next one?' Sis suggested in concern, putting a hand on James's shoulder.

"Do you have enough money to buy another plane ticket? Because I sure as hell don't."

"Whelp, you're doomed! It was nice knowing you!" Jerry said cheerfully, getting an elbow to the arm from Felicia as a response. Wincing, he continued, "at least we're not on the same flight."

"Oh? Where are you guys headed?" James inquired.

"Castelia City in Unova! Our plane leaves from this gate in a few minutes!" Jerry replied, pointing up at a display board that showed information about the flight to Unova.

"Ah." James said hesitantly, as he pulled out the flight passes and showed them to Jerry.

"Dude, _we're on the same flight_." He told his friends in horror, who all suddenly looked uneasy about boarding their flight.

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing! I mean, what could possibly go wrong?" James suggested innocently, shrugging. Sis smacked him in the back of the head in response. "Ow! That hurt!"

'Idiot,' she told him.

* * *

"We'regonnadiewe'regonnadiewe'regonnadie." James chanted to himself quickly, gripping the armrests of his chair so tightly his knuckles turned white.

'Don't worry, if anything happens I'll protect you. You know that.' Sis told him reassuringly, but it wasn't very effective.

"What could you _possibly_ do when we're 30,000 feet above sea level?!" James hissed at her in panic, as the plane began to pick up speed for take off.

However, nothing unusual occurred on the flight for the entire duration, making James's fears completely unwarranted. And he was only satisfied that everything hadn't gone wrong when the plane touched down on the runway of Castelia's airport three hours later.

Needless to say though, James did _not_ get any sleep.

Stepping off the plane and walking down the gantry to the terminal's customs border, James heard someone shout his name Glancing back, he saw the kids from earlier catch up to him.

"See? I _told_ you nothing would happen!" Jerry said offhandedly as soon as he was within earshot of James.

"Really? To me it seemed like you were about to cry as we were taking off." Felicia replied with only a tiniest amount of smugness, which was replaced with relief upon seeing James. "Well, I don't know what upset poor Aaron, but thank goodness it wasn't to do with our flight."

"I second that, that was the most harrowing flight I've ever been on." James told them as they began to walk together.

"A-at least we're back on terra firma now," Alex added meekly, as Starburst fidgeted in his arms. "All we need to do is pass through customs."

"Easy peasy! Nothing can go wrong there!" Jerry said enthusiastically. Everyone stopped and turned to glare at him. James immediately began to pat down his pockets as he searched for something.

'What are you looking for?' Sis enquired.

"My passport, I can't find it!" James exclaimed in panic, making some of the others gasp. Sis gave him a deadpan look as she opened her bag and produced the maroon coloured little booklet. "Ah, there it is."

'It's a miracle that you survived before meeting me.' She stated plainly, as he took the document from her.

"Don't I know it..." James muttered in reply.

Passing through customs proved to be a 'doddle', as James had called it. Soon, they had collected their luggage and were outside, enjoying the fresh breeze of the slightly temperate Unova region. As they walked along the path towards where the buses would take them into the city, Sis paused for a moment to glance up at the sky.

"What's up?" James asked, following her gaze up to a innocent looking cloud.

'I thought I saw something...' she replied distantly, before shaking the thought out of her head and carrying on. 'I'm sure it's nothing.'

James gave her a quizzical look, but she failed to elaborate further, forcing him to just shrug as they caught up with the others.

* * *

"Dude, pick up." James sighed as he tried calling a number on his phone for the fourth time. Putting it to his ear, he heard it ring the number. After three rings, someone actually answered the call.

" _N'yello, Chris here._ "

"Chris! It's James, I just arrived in town."

" _You WHAT?! I thought you were here days ago dude!_ " James winced from the sudden shout down the line.

"I would've been, if my parents had booked a normal flight route. Instead, I got stuck in Miami waiting for a transfer and had to lay over in Saffron. It's been a _nightmare_."

" _Damn, I thought you were here already, raiding the library and interrogating the locals._ " James shook his head at this as he yawned, his eyes starting to droop.

"Well, I wasn't. And it's been one hell of a journey, so I just want to rest and relax today. I'll meet up with you tomorrow."

" _Okay, you get your beauty sleep. Just remember, the race is tomorrow, so I can't meet up long beforehand._ " This woke up James in a flash.

"Wait, _what_?! It's Friday man! You've got qualifying tomorrow!" James told him.

" _No man, it's_ Saturday _. Don't forget that you crossed the international date line._ "

"Oh sweet Arceus I forgot that was a thing!" Chris could practically hear James's facepalm from down the line.

" _Look, I gotta go James. I'll call you around nine tomorrow to tell you where I am so we can meet up. Kay?_ "

"Sure Chris, I'll see you tomorrow then."

After exchanging farewells, James hung up and flopped backwards onto the bed. "I hate my life." He stated to no one in particular.

Deciding to postpone his rest, James dragged himself out of his hotel room and downstairs to the lobby. The entire building he was in was a gigantic Pokémon Center, with the ground floor dedicated to the lobby and trainer facilities, whilst the floors above were treatment rooms and hotel accommodations. Walking into the main lobby, he spotted the group of kids he had met at Saffron.

"Hey kids," he said to them in greeting as he joined them at a table surrounded by plush leather armchairs, picking one of the empty ones and crashing in it. "Getting your pokémon checked up too?" He asked upon not seeing their companions.

"Yep! Then we can have our pokémon battle!" Jerry said with fiery determination. James perked up at this.

"You know what, sure. How does one-on-one sound?" He asked the youngster.

"Awesome! Just to let you know, I'm _so_ gonna win!"

"Uh huh." Waving him off, he turned to the group as a whole. "So, none of you actually told me why you all travelled out here to Unova."

"Oh, how rude of us! You see, we came here to challenge the Gym circuit and the regional Pokémon League tournament." Felicia explained to him.

"Oh, I take it this won't be your first time then?"

"Nope! We took on the Indigo League first, though we all lost that..."Jerry looked away, downcast fro a brief moment, before breaking out into an ear splitting grin again. "That's where we all met for the first time!"

"Then Alex came up with the idea of challenging the League here in Unova, where new pokémon and fresh experiences awaited us, as he put it." Felicia added, making Alex shrink a little with embarrassment at being quoted and credited.

"And here we are!" Jerry finished.

"What about you?" Justin asked James, the first words that he had spoken in his company so far, which took him by surprise momentarily.

"Oh, me? I came here to watch my friend take part in the motor race tomorrow. After that, I'll be hitting the books and doing research!" Alex became alert upon hearing this, leaning forwards curiously.

"What are you researching?" He asked.

"Legendary and mythical pokémon. It's my dream to one day be a Pokémon Professor and the world renown expert on rare pokémon!" James declared boldly, making Alex's eyes light up with excitement.

"Really?! That's amazing! No wonder you were so enamoured by Aaron earlier today," he said, smiling a small but gleeful smile. "Can I see your research? Can I help? I'd love to help!

"Sorry Alex, but I haven't done much in the way of research just yet. All I have had to go on so far is information from the Internet. This'll be my first time doing research in the field, so to speak." The young boy seemed to deflate upon hearing this, but perked up immediately when his Espeon glomped him.

You're pokémon are all healthy and ready for action!" A nurse said as she walked up to them, accompanied by their companions and pushing a cart with trays full of Poké Balls stacked on it.

"How was it?" James asked Sis as she glided over to a spot next to him.

'Meh, trivial at best,' she replied with a nonchalant shrug. 'Everyone else was fine too, by the way.'

"Good, just in time for our battle."

'With the kid?'

"Aye." Sis smiled.

'This'll be fun.'

* * *

Heading outside, the group walked to a just recently vacated trainer battlefield, with Jerry taking one side, and James the far opposite. The others sat down on a bleacher halfway between the opponents, as a referee got out of his seat across the field from them.

"Rules?" He asked them loudly, stretching his arms.

"One-on-one, no items!" James shouted back at him. The referee nodded.

"This'll be a one-on-one match using League terms and rules, no items allowed!" He announced. "Send out your pokémon!"

"Let's go Monferno!" Jerry told his partner, pointing to James across the field in a dramatic way. The fire monkey bounced forwards, entering Jerry's side of the field.

"Alright, Pup I choose you!" James shouted as he plucked a Poké Ball from his belt and tossed it into the field. It burst open, allowing a beam of white light to gush out and hit the ground, materializing and forming the shape of his loyal Mightyena.

"Are both sides ready?" James and Jerry both gave their consent, and the referee raised his flags, one green for Jerry, one red for James. "Begin!"

"Monferno, flamethrower!" Jerry ordered, and his partner eagerly obeyed, inhaling slightly before spewing a long stream of blazing fire towards their opponent.

"Dive!" James shouted, and Pup complied, digging a hole underground and disappearing below, allowing the jet of flame to pass harmlessly underneath.

"Quick, flamethrower down the hole!" Obeying, Monferno ran across the field to the hole Pup had dug, and released another flamethrower into it.

Meanwhile, Pup emerged from the ground some fifteen meters away from his opponent and vacated the hole quickly, just before a jet of fire erupted from the ground like a geyser. Shaking some loose dirt off, Pup bounded around the field towards Monferno, who turned around in time with Jerry's cry of warning.

"Assurance!" James ordered.

"Dodge!" Jerry countered.

One of Pup's forepaws began to glow purple as he closed in on his target, and as Monferno tried to strafe to the side to avoid the attack, Pup effortlessly changed direction and pounced. He flew threw the air, and landed the attack square on Monferno's head, using it as a launch pad to fly further and land close to his trainer. Monferno cried out in pain from the attack, flooring it for a moment, before standing back up again.

"Okay, fire spin!" Monferno nodded, and fired off another jet of fire, which Pup just barely dodged, causing the attack to harmlessly dissipate.

"Dig again!" Pup skidded to a halt and began to furiously dig a hole.

"Mach punch!" With a fist glowing a light shade of blue, the fire type shot froward at a wicked fats speed, socking Pup in the side of his face and sending him flying. It happened so fast James almost missed it by blinking. "Great! Again!"

"What the hell?! _Evade!_ " James shouted in panic, running a hand through his hair as Pup managed to pick himself up and start running again, but not before he caught a glancing blow to his flank. "Go long distance!" He added, as Pup just managed to duck under another lightning fast punch by an inch.

"We've got them on the run! Press the attack!" Jerry exclaimed enthusiastically, punching the air. Monferno gave a cry of acknowledgement before it began to zero in on it's target, now with both fists glowing blue. Pup gave a strangled yelp of surprise and was just able to duck under the first punch, a move which sadly left him exposed to the second. "Critical hit!" Jerry shouted as Pup was sent flying across the field and into the wall next to James, smacking into it before sliding limply to the ground.

"Pup...?" James asked quietly, turning around and looking at the downed pokémon in worry.

"Mightyena is unable to battle! The winner is-"

" _Wait_!" James shouted, interrupting the referee and pointing at Pup, who was carefully picking himself up from the floor, albeit shakily. "You okay Puppy?" he asked his faithful companion, who gave his each of his legs a stretch and wincing form the injuries as a result. He shook his head, the playful expression from earlier gone; with a stern, cold look, he glared at his opponent. Pup the laid back and loveable Mightyena had fainted, but Pup the veteran battler that had single handedly swept the top 32 round at the British National Pokémon Tournament was just getting started.

He turned to look at his trainer, and gave a small nod.

"What." Jerry muttered, looking absolutely dumbfounded. "But that's a dark type! It's weak to fighting! _How_ is it still _standing?!_ "

"Didn't I mention that I was the one time champion of a regional Pokémon tournament?" James asked off-handedly, feigning a look of forgetfulness. " _And_ that although I've been an official trainer for five years, I've been training Pup up for _ten_?"

Jerry's face went pale, almost as if Arceus itself had fallen from the sky and challenged him to a battle. "You have _got_ to be _kidding me_."

"Pup, shadow ball." Pointing at Jerry's Monferno, who was in a similar state of shock to his trainer, Pup bounded forwards and began to rapidly form a sphere of ghostly purple energy. Monferno was able to bring itself back into the battle just in time to start evading, as Pup drew in and fired. The ball soared threw the air and caught it in the shoulder, sending Monferno spinning from the impact. It was able to recover from the blow, and barely had a second to drop to the floor as another shadow ball went straight for it's head.

"Okay Monferno, mach punch again!" Jerry shouted, sounding a little frantic. His partner obeyed, and after quickly jumping back to it's feet it shot forward at an incredible speed glowing fist first.

"Intercept!" Nodding, Pup ran headfirst towards the speeding Monferno, a wicked smile on his face.

"No wait, cancel!" Jerry tried to shout, but he barely got to say the first word when Pup collided with Monferno, and the two battling pokémon vanished in a cloud of white smoke.

"Play rough." James said, more of an explanation than a command. Jerry's mouth simply hung open as occasional glimpses of limbs could be seen passing by the edges of the cloud, before an orange blur was sent rocketing outwards and straight into the wall mere meters away from the spectators on the bench, all of whom recoiled significantly by the sudden impact. Everyone watched as Monferno fell to the ground unconscious, before turning to look at Pup, who stood tall and proud in the center of the field; his fur matted and dirtied, and a trickle of blood flowed gently from his nose.

"Monferno is unable to battle! Mightyena and the red team win!" The referee called, holding the red flag high in the air to signal the victor and the end of the match. Jerry stood there slack-jawed, before returning his partner and walking towards James.

"Good boy Pup! You were brilliant," James told his furry friend as he leant into his trainer's side for a congratulatory pet.

"Hey, good match!" Jerry said as he approached, looking somewhat humble but still energetic. "I didn't realise you'd be so strong, but as you said, you've been doing this for years."

"Yeah, it's been a while that's for sure." James told him as he tapped Pup with his Poké Ball and returned him in a flash of red light.

"Still, you're pretty strong! We'll have to have a rematch with our full teams in the future, when I'm stronger!"

"Sure, why not?" Patting the young lad on the shoulder, they walked back to the others.

"That was splendid! Truly wonderful!" Felicia said jovially, giving the two trainers a dainty round of applause as they approached.

"I-it was a good match; very informative." Alex said, his grinning face betraying his somewhat nervous voice. The Espeon in his arms mewed excitedly.

"Glad you liked it!" James replied with a small wave, stifling a tired yawn as he spoke. Turning to Jerry, he said "we'd better get our battlers healed up."

"Yeah, and you can explain to me _why_ you never mentioned you were an Arceus damned League Champion!"

* * *

After James and Jerry handed their pokémon in to get healed, the two of them took a seat at a table booth in the Center's cafeteria, with Felicia and Alex joining them. Justin had vanished as soon as the battle had ended, and if it wasn't for Sis's confirmation, James would've assumed he had missed it entirely. The three youngsters gave him expectant looks, eagerly awaiting to hear a portion of James's life story.

"Hey, could ya get me some caffeine? It's pretty clear I'm not getting any sleep soon." He asked Sis, allowing her to levitate his wallet away.

'I guess. Don't bore them to death!' She replied as she walked elegantly away, with James noting that she was clearly _not_ heading towards the cafeteria's service counter.

"Arcues-damn her..." James groaned in exasperation, as he watched her turn a corner and vanish from view.

"Sooooooo..." Jerry drawled, giving James a pointed look.

"Yes yes, alright. I'll regale you with my tales of adventure." James said with a sigh and a yawn, shaking his head to keep himself lucid.

"'Bout time, old man. We were starting to grow bear-OW!" Jerry winced as Felicia promptly smacked the back of his head with a hand.

"Jeremiah! Have some patience!" She said, scolding her friend who wisely decided not to retort about his name. "Please, do go on James," she then said sweetly, turning back to face the older man.

"Alright, so-" He began, but was interrupted by a _pop_ as Sis teleported back to the table.

'I got it from here,' she said, making an exaggerated show of clearing her mental throat. 'During the war...' she began, but was _in turn_ interrupted by James, who shot her a scowl.

"Oh, be off with you!" He demanded, making shooing gestures with his hands. Sis snickered as she vanished with another _pop_. Glancing back at the others, he noted their confused expressions. "It's a British joke, don't worry about it." He told them, which didn't really clear up their confused faces. "Now, about me being a League Champion..."

"Finally!" Jerry huffed, flinching afterwards as Felicia made to strike him again.

"First things first, I'm _NOT_ a League Champion." He told them defiantly and definitively, getting a few raised eyebrows in response.

"But you said-" Jerry started to say, but James quickly took over.

"-that I was a one time regional champion of a Pokémon tournament. It wasn't an official Pokémon League tournament though! The League doesn't stretch across to the western world, it's mostly an Asia/Pacific thing."

"Y-yeah, places like the UK and the US don't have Gym circuits and Elite Fours, they have regional tournaments that decide who will go through to the nationals, where the victor of that become akin to a League Champion." All eyes turned to Alex, who seemed to meekly shrink away from the attention.

"Couldn't have said it better myself. I was able to win a regional tournament, but I got thrashed by some kid with a Gardevoir. It was close though," James said, stifling another yawn.

"Okay, so these regional tournaments sound just like Gyms, except you need to beat only _one_ to go through to the nationals- which is just like a League tournament, right?" James nodded. Smiling at getting it all down pat, Jerry continued. "So, that means you should be on par with me, but you're _clearly_ a league beyond mine. How is that possible?!"

"I should point out, that I did those tournaments roughly three or four years ago. And living on a farm get's boring after a while, so I trained up my team. They need to be wicked strong to face any legendaries I meet anyway, in case diplomacy fails."

"Sounds like your team would sweep the Gym Circuit, perhaps you should consider signing up?" Felicia suggested.

"Hey yeah; then I get to face you in the Vertress Conference! That'd be _great!_ " Jerry exclaimed excitedly, slamming his palms down on the table and leaning forwards.

"I wish I could, but I'm only here for a week at most." Jerry's excitement was quickly defeated by James's super effective statement, and he slumped back into his seat with a scowl on his face.

"A shame, truly. You would've done well in it," Felicia said, to which James nodded.

"Probably, perhaps if I was here long-"

 _Pop._

The sudden appearance of Sis at the table startled everyone, as she placed a polystyrene cup filled with a steaming dark liquid in front of James.

'One coffee, no milk no sugar, as ordered.' She told James, handing him back his wallet.

"Where'd you go?! The counter's right there!" He demanded, waving a hand at the food counter across the room.

'The Staryubucks down the street. Their coffee is better.' She told him, making him facepalm..

"Psychics; the bane of my existence." He groaned. Jerry snickered.

'Oh yes, while I was out I saw this advert for the best ice cream in all of Unova. Can we get some?' She asked, a hopeful smile on her face. James gave a thumbs down as he began to drink his coffee, wincing slightly at the temperature. 'Say yes or I'll tell them about your mother's former title.'

The three kids gave James a confused look as he swallowed a mouthful of coffee down the wrong way in surprise, making him cough and splutter. Once he had recovered, he shot his partner a dark look. " _You wouldn't._ "

"What's this about?" Felicia asked, frowning slightly.

'Oh, nothing. Just that his mother used to be-'

"NOPE." James shouted, standing up abruptly. "No time for that! We have ice cream to buy!" Grabbing his coffee, he beckoned to Sis to follow. With a victorious smile, she silently glided after him, leaving Jerry, Alex and Felicia even more confused.

* * *

High above the city streets a lone figure floated effortlessly in the sky, invisible to everyone and everything around it. While it's search hadn't turned up anything helpful, this new and strange environment was exciting to experience. The rush of flying along the streets, the ease of blending in with the masses of humans, it was almost like a paradise.

Almost.

The air smelled bad, which it had deduced was from the noisy machines the humans relied on to take them everywhere. It was painful to breathe, and was making cleaning much more difficult. And speaking of the humans, it had never sensed such a myriad of emotions in all of it's life. It confused her, which was why it had hidden itself away instead of trying to make contact. Even the pokémon couldn't be trusted, especially the ones that hid in the darkness between the buildings.

So it had resorted to hiding out on top of one of the taller buildings, where the air wasn't so bad and it could rest in peace without being spotted.

And it was also a good observation spot, to watch the building which had the same symbol as the bad people that had hurt it emblazoned on the side in gargantuan form.

But it still got bored occasionally, and it often flew close to the ground for brief periods of time to watch the humans, and grab some food while it was there.

And speaking of the food, it couldn't understand how so much food was wasted by the humans and pokémon each day. And there was so many different types of it too! Sure, it had to be careful not to grab anything that looked mouldy or old, but it still did a decent job. And any fresh food it got was so blissful, so good, that it was one of the main reasons why it was still here in the city.

Thinking about food got it's stomach rumbling, so it decided to dip down towards the ground to 'liberate' whatever it could find from a human.

It could find food almost anywhere in the city, but there were some spots where it was able to grab it fresh, like a strange box that sold a really weird type of food. It was cold, yet creamy, and tasted so good! It was definitely a favourite, so it decided to head over there and see what was on the menu today.

* * *

"So, the guide book says that Casteliacones are listed as being one of the top ten ice creams of the world, that its freshly made every day, and that they only sell it whenever they make a batch, which is roughly every fifteen to thirty minutes. It also states that the queues can get very long very quick, and that people would literally sell their souls just go get one." Snapping the guide book shut, he glanced up at the queue they were in, which was mercifully short as he and Sis had managed to catch it at a rather good time.

'Oooh, I can't wait! I wonder what it'll taste like?' Sis wondered aloud through the telepathic link as she fidgeted with anticipation. They both perked up at the sound of a bell, along with everyone else in the queue, as the stall declared itself open for business. The queue began to move in an orderly session, with a person paying and receiving their 'cones roughly every thirty seconds or so, depending on the order size. So it was only a few short minutes until Sis and James stepped forward in front of the stall, where a middle aged woman greeted them with a sweet smile.

"Hi, two Casteliacones please!" James said, holding up his bank card.

"Sure, coming right up!" The lady said as she gestured for James to use the card machine next to her. Swiping his card and finishing the transaction, James stepped back as the woman returned with two Casteliacones, the ice cream looking like it was a fluffy cloud that had been scooped into a wafer cone. Sis immediately grabbed them with telekinesis, and dragged James away down the street, carefully giving him his cone before ravaging her own.

"Steady on! Savour the flavour!" He told her, but she paid him no mind. Within a minute, the cone was gone and Sis had a blissful look unlike anything James had seen on her before. "Is it that good?" He asked.

'Heavenly...' she sighed, practically floating several feet into the air.

Flying through the streets, it slowed itself down as it approached the stall, and by the looks of the people walking away, it had arrived at the right time! Scanning the humans and pokémon walking away from the stall, it noted that a lot of them were already eating their foods, and it dared not risk trying to get some from the stall itself. Scanning the street again, it's eyes lit up upon seeing a human that hadn't touched it's food yet!

Grinning wickedly to itself, it dived down...

"Well, let's see what the fuss is about," James said as he raised the cone up to take a tentative lick, but was interrupted by a tap to his shoulder. Glancing behind him, he saw no one there. "Huh, odd..."

Shrugging, he turned back to the cone in his hand. Or rather, the cone that _was_ in his hand. Blinking in surprise, he looked around to see where it had gone, and upon looking up by chance, saw it begin to float away above him.

"Sis, stop it. Give it back." He told Sis, who still had a dreamy look on her face.

'Whuh...?' She said, looking over at him as she shook off her daze. He pointed upwards, and following his finger, she gasped. 'That's not me, that's an invisible pokémon!"

"Wait, _what_?!" Looking up in greater surprise, he saw that the cone whatever it was had just pinched slowly being eaten. " _OI_! Unhand that cone!" He shouted, shaking his fist at the general direction of 'it'.

'I don't think it heard you,' she said, as the cone continued to be devoured.

"Arceus-damn it! Sis, throw me up at it."

'James-'

"Sister, do it! _No one_ steals food from _me!_ " James shouted, practically livid. Sis sighed, and raising her arms, used her powers to propel James up into the sky.

* * *

Mmmmmm! It was _sooooo_ good!

It was most definitely glad that it had come to the stall today, and that there was a human gullible enough to fall for the trick!

Savouring the flavour of the cone, it didn't notice the speeding object that approached it until it collided, catching it by surprise and making it drop the cone. Thankfully, the invisibility held, but whatever it was had wrapped what felt like arms around it's neck. Trying to shake it off, it realised that the thing on her neck was a human, the one it had just 'liberated' the food from!

Needles to say, it panicked.

* * *

James closed his eyes and braced himself as he collided with the invisible thing, Sis holding him up in the air long enough to wrap his arms around something long and slender.

"Gotcha!" James shouted defiantly, but the thing started to squirm and shake, trying to jostle him loose. "Woah! Sis, get ready to disrupt it's cloak! I'm gonnaaaaaaaa _aaaaaaaaaaaah!_ "

He wasn't able to finish his sentence, as the thing suddenly took off at an incredible speed, forcing James to hang on for dear life. It sped down the street, took a turn, took another, came dangerously close to scraping him against a building, and then shot straight upwards. All the while James was screaming for his life, terrified as the thing rapidly climbed up. Five hundred feet. A thousand. Two thousand. Three!

They were high above the city now, and if James were to ever let go, it was guaranteed that he would not survive the express elevator down.

Then the thing abruptly stopped, tipping upside down so that he was dangling vertically, and tried to shake him off. James felt his arms begin to slip against whatever the surface the thing was made out of, and it only took a few moments until what felt like a head slipped through his arms, before he lost all grip whatsoever and began to fall.

He started to scream again as he plummeted feet first at an alarming rate, the towers and streets below increasing in size very quickly.

* * *

It took some doing, but it had managed to shake off the clingy human! Sighing in relief, it looked around, realising that it was high up in the sky now.

And it had just shaken the human loose...

Looking down sharply, it saw the human fall back towards the ground, and a spike of panic and fear pierced it's chest. What had it done? It had just killed a human! It never wanted to hurt it, just to make it let go!

Reacting quickly, it dived down after it, hoping it could catch up in time.

Increasing it's speed, it realised that it couldn't catch up in time, son it resorted to using it's psychic powers. Closing it's eyes, it reached out with it's mind and found the human's, which was flooded with a fear it had experienced once before. Concentrating hard, it focused on the human's body and it's relation to gravity, adjusting the pull and it's speed.

It took a considerable amount of effort, but it was able to slow the human just enough for it to slip underneath and allow the human to land on it's back. It immediately tried to grip onto something, which turned out to be the neck again, as it levelled their descent off into horizontal flight. Turning around, it quickly soared over to the nearest building, landing on the high rooftop, and reaching out with it's mind, it pulled the human off of it's back.

* * *

It took several moments for James to come to terms with what the holy flaming Arceus had just happened. Invisible thing steals his ice cream. He catches invisible thing. Invisible thing proceeds to zoom around the city at the speed of light, before ascending straight up like a rocket and shaking him off several feet meters above sea level. He falls down to his inevitable doom. Then invisible thing saves him and deposits him on a rooftop.

He almost died. Again. He _really_ came close to dying then! But he was saved, by an invisible thing. Was it a pokémon? A superhuman? An _alien_?

He found himself not caring. He wasn't falling, or moving at breakneck speeds, and that suited him just fine.

"I am never leaving home again." He stated aloud, refusing to move from the roof.

James almost didn't register when something poked his belly. Lifting his head up, he saw nothing, but most certainly felt a second poke.

"Invisible thing, I am still recovering from a near death experience. Please stop." He told the thing, if it was even still there. He wasn't poked again, so he guess it listened to him.

'JAMES!' Sis's voice shouted in his mind, making him jump and accidentally hitting what he presumed was the invisible thing with his knee.

"INSIDE VOICE!" James shouted both in his mind and out loud, clutching the sides of his head as his brain throbbed painfully.

'Sorry! I think I sense where you are. Hang on, I'll be up in a sec!'

There was a faint _whunf_ , and Sis appeared directly next to his head. She immediately knelt down, touching his body with a hand and sending a wave of psychic energy washing over him.

'Are you okay? Are you hurt? What was that thing? What hap-' James interrupted her stream of questions by raising a hand, as he slowly picked himself up off of the roof.

"Is it still here?" He asked hesitantly, casting a wary gaze around the rooftop.

'No, I don't think so. I can't see it anywhere.'

"Okay, good." Releasing a _very_ long sigh, James rubbed the temples on his head, taking deep and steady breaths. "Just... get us back to our room."

Nodding silently, Sis linked her arm with his, and with another _whunf_ , the scene around them melted and morphed into their hotel room, where James flopped onto the bed for the second time that day.

"That was the biggest mistake I have ever made. _EVER_." He said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Where on Earth did I end up, by the way?"

'I could be wrong about this, but I think I found you on the roof of that Aeon Corporation building.'

"That's the _really_ tall one, right?"

'Yes.'

Sis decided to let James's long and drawn out swear go this one time.

* * *

It watched as the human was taken away by the strange pokémon that seemed to have similar mind powers. Sighing, it floated back to it's rooftop, reflecting on the events that had just occurred.

It had just very nearly killed a human. It had never killed _anything_ before, and the thought that it would've been responsible for ending another living soul's life tore at it's heart. It felt guilty, _very_ guilty. None of this wouldn't've happened if it hadn't been so greedy, trying to steal food from a human. Because thats what it was: stealing. And stealing was bad, just like killing.

It let out a sad whine. This quest, this mission had affected it so badly, that it was instinctively doing bad things now. It's kind were meant to be pure of heart, but here it was, ready to kill a human just because it had reacted to having it's food stolen.

' _What am I even doing here...?_ ' It thought, gazing morosely at the street far below. ' _I want to go home. Mother, father; where are you? I don't want to be alone..._ '


	4. Act 1, Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: To A Boil**

"This. Is. _BORING._ " Sitting in the back of a rather inconspicuous and totally unassuming black minivan, Lennie threw his arms up in the air in frustration. For the past two weeks, his compatriots and himself had been watching the skies for any sign of their target, but apart from a few fleeting sightings on their instruments, it had so far eluded them. Today was no exception. "We're just sitting here doing absolutely _nothing_ ," he added as he flicked through the different tabs open on his computer monitor, switching from a radar screen to a live thermal imaging feed from a camera somewhere in the city.

"Could be worse." The only other person in the back of the van said plainly, not looking away from his own computer monitor. Lennie turned around in his chair very slowly to give the man an incredulous look.

"What do you _MEAN_ it could be _worse_?!" He asked, his voice becoming squeaky.

"We could be doing this for free." This was enough to placate Lennie, and raising his eyebrows in pleasant surprise, he turned back to his monitor.

"Huh. Y'know Brick, that's a _very good_ point. I almost forgot we get _paid_ for sitting around doing absolutely _fu-_ "

"It's me, open up." Lennie and Brick both turned sharply at the voice at the rear doors, both reaching for their handguns holstered inside their leather jackets. As they pointed them at the doors, Brick leant forward and pushed them open, revealing a third man wearing an identical leather jacket and holding a large white box. "Got the donuts," he told them, gesturing with the box. Satisfied that he was alone, they lowered their guns and allowed him inside, closing the doors behind him.

" _Gimme._ " Lennie demanded impatiently, arms outstretched for the box. With a roll of his eyes, the third man, handed it over, much to Lennie's glee as he began to savagely devour the donuts within.

"Anything?" the man asked Brick, leaning over his shoulder to look at his monitor.

"Nope." was the simple reply. Sighing at the news, the man headed to the driver's seat at the front and sat down in it, pulling down his own monitor from the ceiling.

"Arceus-damn, I was hoping we'd have it caught by now..." the man muttered, rubbing his forehead in thought. He was quickly interrupted however, by panicked squeaking noises from Lennie, who had a whole donut shoved in his mouth as he frantically pointed at his screen.

The man and Brick quickly brought up Lennie's screen on their own monitors, which displayed a thermal imaging feed of a street camera, and they immediately realised what had excited Lennie. Displayed very clearly on the screen was their target, with a random human dangling from around its neck.

Lennie made a strangled noise as he attempted to swallow the donut, somehow succeeding with a garbled _gulp_ , and exclaimed with a gasp, " _hoooooooly shi-_ "

"Boss, we need to go." Brick said. Nodding, the Boss started up the ignition of the van, and just as he began to drive away, they saw their target shoot off out of view of the camera. All three of them began to frantically skim through different camera feeds, before a shout from the Boss drew their attention to the radar screen, which showed their target shooting straight up at an incredible speed, before going out of range of their radar dish.

The Boss stopped the van just twenty yards from where it was originally parked, just further along in the dark and secluded alleyway. Lennie and the Boss both swore loudly, with Lennie angrily hurling the box of donuts at the rear door.

"Arceus-dammit, not _again!_ " Lennie screamed as he clutched his head in frustration, before the penny dropped on what he had just done. " _Nooooo_ , my donuts!"

"This is starting to get _annoying._ " Slamming his fist upon the dashboard in anger, the Boss sighed heavily. "Our employer will be in town in two days and we have _nothing_ to show him."

"Boss..."

" _What?!_ " the boss snarled as he turned round to face Brick.

"I have something. Check your monitor." Frowning, he did as Brick suggested, and found his eyebrows rise in interest.

"Hello..." he cooed as he leant closer to the screen, a small smile spreading on his face.

"Huh? What, what's going _on?_ " Lennie asked as he stuck his head between their seats.

"Check your monitor Lennie, we just scored ourselves a lead," the Boss told him. Lennie did so, and whistled as he saw the image.

"Brick, run an ID check on that guy."

"Already done Boss. Guy's name is James Wilson Junior, just flew into town this morning."

" _Excellent._ " Turning back to his monitor, his smile widened. "Lennie, crack out the disguises. We're gonna pay Mr. Wilson here a _visit._ " He stuck out a finger and pressed it up against a screen-cap of the street camera footage, this time in standard imaging and enlarged so that the face of the man that had clung onto their target was more visible.

"Oh _yeah!_ The gang's _back_ on _track!_ " Lennie whooped as the Boss started up the van and drove them out of the alleyway...

* * *

"Hey Muscles, do me a favour and keep an eye on Majesty and Lightning? They look about ready to hurl their handbags." The machoke nodded and gave James the thumbs up, before strolling over to the bickering duo. James could only watch and sigh as Muscles easily separated the quarrelling vespiquen and pidgeot and tried to get the to calm down.

James was honestly surprised to find out that the Pokémon Center had a garden at the back where trainers could send out their pokémon for some relaxation, considering that the Center was sandwiched between high-rise buildings and sky-piercing skyscrapers from all sides. So the existence of a surprisingly spacious but secretive garden nestled amongst the office buildings with the only point of access being the Pokémon Center itself was a bit of a shock.

But, as Sis had pointed out, it was best not to look a gift ponyta in the mouth. And so, he had found a spot at the far end where he could send out his team and let them relax for a while before sunset.

James turned his attention to Pup and Drew, who were sniffing and marvelling at the flowers and plants in the garden, and he was most decidedly thankful that he _hadn't_ brought along Betsy. No doubt half the flowers in the garden would've been flattened by now.

'This is a nice place, very tranquil.' He nodded in agreement as Sis teleported right next to him and took a seat beside him on the bench.

"Yeah, bit surprising all things considered."

'So,' Sis began, and her tone of voice made James cringe and brace for impact. 'This is the part where I'm supposed to lecture you and tell you that what you did earlier was stupid and wrong and _almost got you KILLED_.' He winced at the sudden ferocity broadcasted into his mind, and hung his head at her words. 'Only this time, you almost got _everyone else_ on the team killed too!'

She waved an arm at her fellow teammates and turned to scowl at James. 'Look at them! They wouldn't be alive now if that invisible thing hadn't caught you!'

"Yeah, I know. I take full responsibility on this one." James hoped that was enough to placate the irate gardevoir, but sadly it was not.

'And what about your _parents?_ How do you think _they_ would take it if news of your death reached them? Or what about your _friends?_ '

"I think I see what the issue is now..." James started to say, but was cut off by the telepathic equivalent of frustrated screaming being transmitted into his mind.

'Are you even _LISTENING_ to me?!'

"Sis, would I be right in thinking that the reason why you're chewing my head off is because you weren't able to do anything to help?" James asked her, making her flinch and look away.

'It's not just that-!'

"Oh yes it is. Don't forget that this _isn't_ the first time you've been powerless to help me, and last time you pretty much reacted the same afterwards." James went back to supervising his other pokémon, who were _clearly_ trying way too hard in pretending not to listen in. The fact that Majesty and Lightning had gone dead silent was a definite giveaway.

'Okay, so maybe it is all about that. I _am_ supposed to protect you, after all. That is _literally_ the point of my entire species. And it's kinda hard to do that when you put yourself into incredibly deadly situations.'

"To be fair, you _did_ throw me up there."

'And how was I supposed to know that the invisible thing could go from zero to mach one in _three seconds?!_ Seriously, that thing was _crazy fast._ '

"Don't I know it," James muttered, remembering the rush of the wind as he had clung on for dear life...

'I just... we _all_ worry about you James, and we all want to keep you safe.' He felt Sis place a comforting hand on his shoulder, and for a brief moment there wasn't an exchange of words but one of pure emotions as both sides reconciled. Then the exchange ended, and the hand was gone. 'Despite the fact that your tendency to get into trouble will drive us all to an early grave.'

"Hey, don't blame me for that! Blame whatever deity controls fate in this world."

'Arceus?'

"Pssh, as if. Arceus doesn't _exist_." He waved his hand to ward off the very notion of an all-knowing being watching over the universe. "It's probably Dialga or something like that. Or Mew, maybe."

'Fair point, I suppose.' They sat in the garden for a good while, with Sis and James watching their friends relax whilst continuing their talk about what happened earlier. Eventually, Sis glanced up at the sky briefly and saw its blue hue slowly fade into one of red. 'It's getting late, we should head in.'

"Yeah, good idea. We can let the team out and explore tomorrow after the race. It'll be nice for the veterans to see Chris again." Pushing himself off of the bench, he took a couple of steps forward and loudly clapped his hands. "Alright you bunch of gossips, time to head in for the night! Get yer butts over here!"

Sis rose to join him as the rest of the team filed in with entirely _too_ innocent faces. One by one, they were returned to the Poké Balls and reattached to the belt around James's waist.

"Come on, let's get some grub. I'm starving..."

* * *

"Alright, we're here." The Boss said as he pulled the van up to the Pokémon Center and moved from the driver's seat into the cramped rear, where Brick was already done slipping into the black suit and white shirt and was just tightening up his matching black tie. "IDs?" he asked his two compatriots.

"Got 'em _here_ , Bossman." Holding up two sets of fake IDs, Lennie flashed him a smile. "Practically _identical_ to the real _deal._ "

"Good enough. Let me get into costume." Grabbing the duffel with his name on it, the Boss quickly shed his leather attire before donning the identical black suit within the bag. Once they were both properly dressed and had their ID badges, they were ready to go out and find Mr. Wilson.

"Don't forget your _sunglasses!_ " Lennie called out to them as they left the van, holding two pairs in his hand.

* * *

"Ahh, that was a nice dinner!" James said pleasantly as he closed the door to their hotel room and flopped onto his bed, whilst Sis daintily perched on hers.

'It was rather nice. An interesting blend of American and Asian cuisine.' Closing her eyes, she physically sighed in enjoyment, before she too unceremoniously flopped onto her own bed.

"Arceus, I could sleep for an _age._ Please make sure I wake up early tomorrow, I don't want to miss Chris's race." He told Sis as he reluctantly rose from the bed and moved to his suitcase, where he pulled out his pyjamas. He was about to formally start the preparing-for-bed ritual when someone knocked at the door. Frowning, he emptied his hands back into the case and moved over to open it whilst Sis watched on with curiosity.

When he opened it however, he was greeted by two well built men in black suits, black ties, and wearing sunglasses. Alarm bells started to ring in his head, courtesy of Sis.

"James Wilson Junior?" the less burly of the two asked. James meekly nodded. "I'm Agent Fox, this is Agent Danning; We're with the Federal Bureau of Investigation." They both produced black wallets and flipped them open to reveal their FBI badges and their ID cards, before storing them away inside their suits again. James paled considerably.

"Ah, the FBI. Listen, can I just say that whatever happened had _nothing_ to do with me. I don't know _any_ gardevoir and take no responsibility for whatever it may or may not have done."

'Oi!'

"We're not here about a gardevoir sir, we're here about an incident that occurred earlier afternoon involving you." Agent Fox told him, and if it was possible for James's face to pale even more it would.

"Oh, really?"

"Can we come in, sir?" James meekly nodded again and stepped aside to allow the Federal agents to shuffle in. He sat back on the bed as the agents stood in front of him, their stony faces remaining devoid of any emotion. "We're here to talk about the incident that occurred earlier this afternoon on Mode Street, not far from the Casteliacone stand, involving you and a suspect in an ongoing investigation."

"Oh, you mean the invisible thing?" The agents shared what could only be described as an awkward look before Fox nodded.

"Yes, the... 'invisible thing.'" He cleared his throat. "Can you please describe in as much detail as you can what transpired from the moment you spotted it to the moment you were last in contact with it?"

"Uh, sure." And he did, telling the Feds how it had stolen his ice cream, how he had Sis throw him up to it to get it back, then how it took off, flew up several thousand feet, shook him free and sent him falling to his death, before finally saving him and landing him on a rooftop. Agent Danning wrote his story down on a notepad whilst Agent Fox asked a few questions, before both agents were satisfied.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Wilson. Your information today could help crack this case wide open." Agent Fox told him.

"Uh, no problem?" he hesitantly said in reply.

"We'll see ourselves out. Have a pleasant evening, Mr. Wilson." With that, the two agents gave a small nod and promptly left, closing the door behind them and leaving James and Sis to sit in silence for a good half a minute.

"Well, _that_ was a thing."

'James, I'm not sure they were FBI agents.' He turned to face Sis, who looked concerned from the encounter.

"Are you sure? They had sunglasses and everything!"

'James, I couldn't sense their _minds._ They were just blank spots for me, like they didn't even exist.'

"Like, say, a dark type?" he suggested, and Sis nodded slowly. He stared at her with a concerned look of himself for a moment, before smiling and waving her off. "Nah...! I'm sure FBI agents must shield their minds to protect secrets of national security, right?" The smile faltered though the more he thought about it, and he turned to give the door a worried glance. "Right...?"

* * *

As soon as the Boss was back in the driving seat he started up the engine and quickly drove away from the Pokémon Center, whilst Brick scanned his notes into the computer.

"You _get_ it?" Lennie asked eagerly as the Boss took off his sunglasses and tossed them over his shoulder.

"Yeah. Wasn't much, but there was one thing that stood out." Taking a turn round a corner, he drove down a side street and away from the main thoroughfare of Castelia's congested traffic. "The target took him to the roof of the Aeon Corporation building."

" _Really?_ Naw, you guys are _pulling_ my _leg,_ right?"

"Nope." Brick stated firmly as he finished scanning his notepad and promptly began to rip it up.

"Wait, _seriously?!_ "

"Yep. There's _no way_ that was a complete coincidence. We're headed there now to check it out, and there we can inform out employer too."

"Oh _man!_ We are _so_ getting paid!"

* * *

"Ooh look, they have _bacon!_ " Felicia was thankful for staying at a big city Pokémon Center, because those type of Centers usually offered a wide range of breakfast options, including an all-you-can-eat cooked breakfast buffet. It was so much nicer than being restricted to 'porridge of the day' or a limited selection of cereals.

As she moved away from the dishes of crispy bacon, Jerry dove in and proceeded to labour a good half-dozen rashers onto his plate. She decided not to comment.

Once their little group of friends had picked their food, they left the self-service counters in search of a free table in a sea of pokémon trainers. Luckily, they didn't have to search for long.

"Ahoy sailors!" James hollered from a large booth, waving his hands to grab their attention.

"Good morning James!" Felicia said warmly as herself, Jerry, Alex, and Justin came over to his table and joined him.

"Morning kids, busy day today?" he asked as he dabbed his face with a napkin, having already finished his food.

"Yeah, we're gonna challenge Burgh!" Jerry told him excitedly before wolfing down his food.

"'Burgh?'"

"C-castelia's Gy Leader," Alex supplied.

"Ah."

"Where's the gardevoir?" Justin asked, his bowl of porridge lay untouched.

"Uh, Sis? Sorting out the food for my team. I've gotta shoot off real quick to go catch the big race today so she's getting that sorted before we leave."

"Didn't you say a friend of yours was in the race?" He nodded in confirmation to Felicia, and Alex perked up.

"O-oh, is your friend Jenson Button?" he asked eagerly.

"Oh sweet heavens no, he's not _that_ famous." Alex seemed to deflate as James waved his question away with his near-empty glass of juice. "Nah, my friend's called Chris Merr."

"C-c-c- _Cristopher Merr?!_ " Alex stammered out, his eyes going wide in shock.

"Yeah, that's him. My friend Chris the Formula One driver, though don't get _too_ excited, he's never finished above 15th place."

"Nevertheless, it's still quite amazing to know a personal friend of a Formula One driver! My parents are big fans, they'll be ever so pleased when I tell them about this!" Felicia said with a broad smile, whilst Justin nodded slightly.

"Couldn't care less about car races, I prefer pokémon fights." Shrugging, Jerry went back to his meal, just as James's phone began to ring.

"Oop, that'll be him. Sorry guys, but I gotta dash! See ya later!" Vacating his seat quickly, he took off towards the front doors of the Pokémon Center at a run, almost colliding into an audino wheeling a trolly full of Poké Balls.

"W-wow, Christopher Merr!" Alex muttered in amazement, staring after James's retreating figure.

"Oh darn, we should've gotten him to get an autograph for mother and father," Felicia told her brother, who nodded lightly.

* * *

"Right this way sir," a security guard told James and Sis as he led them through a gate and onto the hard tarmac'd surface of the Castelia City Speedway. They followed him down the track that led to the pit lane, where all the cars were being worked on and prepped for today's big race, walking past some of the biggest names in racing. Ferrari, Williams, Renault, Sauber...

"James!" As they came up to the British American Racing garage, one of the two drivers came rushing out to greet him much to the annoyance of the staff that had been talking to him.

"Chris, old buddy old pal! Long time no see," James said as he shook his dear friend's hand, followed by Sis.

'Greetings Chris.'

"Hey guys it's great to see ya, it really is. I'm excited for this one, I think this'll be the one where I _win!_ " Chris told them enthusiastically, rubbing his gloved hands together.

"Sure it will," James said with no small hint of sarcasm, making his friend scowl. "Seriously though, good luck in the race. We both hope that you'll win, or at least finish."

"Yeah, thanks. It's gonna be an interesting one that's for sure." Chris glanced back at his pit crew for a brief second, catching the expectant looks that were thrown his way before he turned back round. "Hey, sorry I can't stay to chat. Gotta go win that podium spot!"

"No sweat, we'll catch up after the race."

"Yeah, sure thing. See ya then!" Waving goodbye to them, Chris jogged back to his car and the security guard led James and Sis off the pit lane and back to the public areas of the Speedway so they could go grab their seats.

* * *

The humans were acting rather odd today.

A fair few of them had flocked to a strange part of their city that looked like a giant squiggly line from up in the sky. Why were they doing that? Was something happening there?

Curious, it decided to fly over to see what was going on. The mission had been stalled for some time now, and it really _could_ use the distraction.

It took off from its spot high in the sky and flew down closer to the ground, narrowly avoiding one of the human's weird floating buzzing machines. They were a real nuisance, always trying to fly in its way and such. Sky hogs.

* * *

" _MMMMMMMMPHH!_ " Lennie moaned loudly but urgently as he struggled to swallow the sizeable chunk of burger in his mouth, frantically waving his arms and jabbing the rest of his takeaway meal at his monitor.

"What is it _now?_ " the Boss asked irritably, turning in the driver's seat to glare backwards at his colleague.

"MMMMPHH _MMMMMMMMMMMMMPH!_ "

"For Arceus's sake man, _swallow!_ " Lennie did so after struggling for a moment, and inhaled deeply.

"TARGET _SPOTTED!_ " he bellowed, making Brick and the Boss shoot up straight in alarm.

"What?!" They turned to look frantically at their monitors, flicking through feeds until they came across the right one. "Drone 17 spotted it 'bout half a mile up! Looks like its flying down to the ground, heading north-northwest."

"I _see_ that, but where's it _heading?_ " Lennie asked in frustration as he tried to get a bearing on the target's course.

"Projected it. Target is headed for the Castelia Speedway." Brick informed them. The Boss immediately fired up the van in response.

"Get that drone to follow it at a distance! We're _not_ losing it this time!"

* * *

"Ah, here we go!" James said happily as he _finally_ found their seats after a good ten minutes of searching. Sis wasn't far behind him, weaving through the crowds of spectators whilst carrying their drinks and snacks high above her head with telekinesis.

' _Why_ did we get seats all the way out here again? There isn't even a big screen for us to watch!' she grumbled as she eventually caught up to him and sat down, splitting up the snacks to their rightful owners.

"Because they were free? Don't look a gift ponyta in the mouth and be thankful that Chris was able to get us these in the first place." Sis still didn't look happy about it, but she kept silent on the matter as they settled in and readied themselves for the race.

* * *

It had taken a little while, but it had _finally_ figured out why the humans were here!

They were here to watch people draw more giant funny lines! It made so much sense now!

And whilst that didn't sound _too_ interesting, the large amount of food that the humans were making and giving out was _incredible!_ Sadly, they were all tightly packed together which made 'liberating' a meal rather difficult. It might be time to use the human disguise again.

It suddenly stopped in mid air, and looked sharply down. Sitting amongst the throngs of humans was a human with a familiar aura to it. A _very_ familiar aura. Wasn't that the human that had grabbed onto it and had nearly died?

Flying down closer, it turned out that it _was_ the very same human. And- oh look, he had _food!_

* * *

'James.'

"Yeah?" he asked Sis as he took a sip of his soda.

'The invisible thing is back.'

He promptly spat the soda back out again.

" _Seriously?!_ " he asked incredulously, half rising from his seat as he scanned the skies for a sign of it, but as usual, it was invisible.

'Yeah, it's hovering pretty close directly above you- no wait, it's gone again.' Frowning, James slowly lowered himself back into his seat.

"That's _definitely_ not a sign of things to come," he muttered sarcastically, but still warily watching the skies. "Keep an eye out and let me know if you see it again."

* * *

" _Dammit!_ The drone's lost _visual_ of the _target!_ " Lennie shouted, just as the van screeched to a halt at the entrance to the Speedway.

"What do you mean 'lost visual?!'" the Boss snarled, checking his own screen and ignoring the traffic that was building up behind them.

"It dove down behind a seating pavilion. It might be trying to disguise itself." Brick stated, and the train of thought led the Boss to a conclusion.

"It's going to take human form!" He drove forwards again, shooting into the car park and nearly running over a family of four. "Brick, you and Lennie stay in the van and get ready to back me up. I'll pursue it on foot."

* * *

It was pretty pleased with how well the disguise worked! So far, none of the humans around it were staring funnily. If anything, some of the human males were staring at her in a _very_ interested way. That must be good, right?

Either way, it was able to slip through the crowd easily enough and made it close to where its destination lay, where bountiful food awaited!

Oh, and that human too. But it was mostly about his food.

* * *

"Aw yeah, here we go!" James cheered as he watched the F1 cars rev their engines from their positions at the starting line via his phone. The race was seconds away from beginning, and James could easily feel the excitement in the crowd as they eagerly awaited the drivers to zoom past.

The lights counted down, the revving became louder...

The cars started to move! "And it's go, go _go!_ " James cheered enthusiastically as he watched the cars speed away from their starting positions and onto the first turn.

'Eyes front, they'll be passing by soon,' Sis advised him as James whooped.

"Go Chris _go!_ "

Sis smiled, glad to see James so happy. She wasn't a fan of the sport, the cars were too loud and it was somewhat hard to follow at times. But if James liked it, then that was okay.

Looking around the crowd, she spotted something odd moving towards them. Frowning, she closed her eyes and reached out with her psychic powers, and flinched. _Hard._

' _James!_ ' she practically shouted into his mind, almost making him drop his phone.

"What? What is it?" he asked.

'The invisible thing, its turned into a _human!_ ' James stared at her in shock, before smiling and shaking his head.

"Nah...! You're pulling my leg again!" His smile faltered. "Right..?"

'See that redhead over there, roughly six feet tall in the white and red dress moving down the stairs?'

"Yeah...?"

' _That_ is the invisible thing, and it's heading our way.'

"Oh. Oh _snap._ "

They watched as the redhead in question shyly made her way through the crowd towards them, trying her best to avoid touching anyone. When she was right next to them, she gave the duo a shy wave before shimmying her way past them to take the seat on the other side of James, away form Sis.

"Uh, hi?" James tentatively asked her once she was settled, and she waved again. He frowned and turned to face Sis. "Are you-"

' _YES._ '

"Alright, alright! No need to shout..." Turning back to the girl, he gave her a forced smile as she regarded them curiously. "Was uh, just talking to my gardevoir friend. She can speak telepathically you see..." The redhead nodded in understanding, resting her hands on her lap as she stared intently at James.

"So... you got a name?"

* * *

" _Drone's got eyes on it again. Target is confirmed to be in human form. Forwarding its ident to you now._ "

"Thanks Brick," the Boss said into the hidden microphone on his FBI disguise as he weaved his way through the crowd, resting a hand on the phone in his pocket in anticipation of the image he was about to receive.

" _There is something else. Target is sitting with someone. It appears to be Mr. Wilson._ "

"What?!" the Boss hissed quietly but incredulously into the mic. "Tell me you're _joking._ "

" _I never joke Boss._ "

The phone buzzed, and as quick as he could the Boss flicked it open and stare at the image. He saw Wilson and that pet gardevoir of his, but he also saw the target disguised as an innocent-looking redhead.

"Received target ident, moving in for capture." He pocketed the phone and quickened his pace. "Goddamn _Wilson_..."

* * *

"Here they come again!" James told the others, and they all eagerly stood up to watch the cars come roaring round the turn and onto a straight. They had started to spread out now, and it was clear which cars were in the front and which were in the back.

Sadly, Chris was in the back. But that didn't stop James and Sis from trying to cheer him on!

"GO CHRIS!" James shouted as loud as he could as he spotted Chris's F1 car come speeding round the corner before charging off down the straight in a desperate attempt to catch up with the pack. He glanced over at Red, who had cheerfully waved the large bag of crisps in her hand but had sunk back into her seat to continue eating.

Whatever Red was, she wasn't able to provide a name for herself. All she did was shrug and eye up James's snacks, so he elected to call her Red for the mean time, and she seemed to be okay with it.

She had been thoroughly confused when the cars came screaming round the first time, to the point where she looked ready to turn invisible and bolt. Thankfully, he was able to calm her down and explain what was going on. As soon as she figured out that this was a race, she seemed very excited.

Then she started to eat his snacks. James had tried to protest at first but gave up when she started to _levitate_ them towards her, further cementing the thought that making Sis look up what Red might be via the internet on his phone was a good idea.

'I think I got something,' Sis told him as he sat back down and grabbed his soda.

"Oh?" he asked inquisitively as he sipped his soda again.

'I did some poking around on Poképedia, that online pokémon database, and I found two that matches Red's abilities.' James slurped loudly as he drank but gestured for Sis to continue. 'According to my rather quick research, she is the Legendary pokémon Latias.'

For the second time that day, James spat out his soda in an impressive spit-take.

'You're _JOKING._ ' he told her via their telepathic connection, not wanting to draw Red's attention.

'I wish I was. And I saw that coming, by the way.'

'Oh shut up and tell me what's the other pokémon she could be!' he asked irritably, mentally crossing his fingers.

'The Legendary pokémon Latios.'

"YOU WHAT-" he started to say aloud before catching himself and slapping both his hands over his mouth, his eyes going wide in shock. He did his best to ignore the confused frown Red was giving him.

'I swear to Arceus, if you're taurosshi-'

'I'm _NOT_ James. Those two pokémon are the only ones that match her abilities, if she's even a pokémon at all.'

'Okay, okay. Don't panic James, there's only a _freaking Legendary_ sitting next to you and eating your snacks...' he inhaled, then exhaled deeply. 'How can we tell which one she is?' he asked.

Sis merely shrugged, and as one they both turned to face Red, whose frown was getting deeper as she started on James's chocolate bars. They took in her general appearance- the hair, the way she was dressed and how she had acted so far, before turning back to face each other.

'Latias.' they said at the exact same time.

'Okay, I'm gonna try and initiate first contact.' He told her.

'Don't screw it up. And if all else fails, bribe it with food. Good luck.'

Sighing deeply, James turned round and looked Red right in the eye.

"Heeeeeyy, Red! Got a question for you." She tilted her head and gave him a curious look, which James took as a go-ahead. He beckoned her to lean in close, which she did, and he moved in close enough to that he could easily whisper into her ear. "Are you a Latias?"

The reaction was _immediate._ Red recoiled harshly from his question, a downright terrified look on her face as she clung to the chocolate bar tightly. Her disguise even rippled slightly from the shock.

"It's okay, it's okay! I'm not going to hurt you, honest!" James said as soothingly as possible, holding out his hands in a sign of peace. "If you really _are_ a Latias, then you should be able to sense my emotions. They'll tell you the truth."

Her terrified expression slowly turned into a concerned look, then a worried frown, but it was apparently enough for her to sit back down again, albeit wary of James.

'James, if I may?' Sis asked, gesturing between herself and Red. Getting the gist of it, James nodded and Sis promptly stuck out a hand, reaching it as close as possible over James towards Red. She eyed it cautiously for a brief moment, before hesitantly taking it and closing her eyes at the same time as Sis. Whatever telepathic connection they had shared lasted only for a few short seconds before Red released Sis's hand, looking far more comfortable now.

'We've come to an understanding. She'll stay, but you're not allowed to touch her. Afterwards, she'll meet up with us later tonight at the Pokémon Center, as she feels like we can help her with something important.' James had to mentally calm himself down after Sis's explanation. A Legendary needed his help? Oh _my!_

"Alright, I can agree to that," he told the disguised Legendary with a nod. "I'm just glad that you don't consider me as a threat now."

"But I _am._ " All three heads turned sharply to look behind them. James's eyes went wide when he saw Agent Fox standing directly behind him, a galvantula at his side.

"Oh bloody-!"

Agent Fox moved quickly, striking first and fast with a punch to James's face, sending him reeling backwards and out of his seat. Sis immediately stood up and amassed her immense psychic power, but the galvantula was quicker and was able to fire off an electroweb at her face, making her seize up from the sudden electrical charge.

Panicked, Red shifted out of human form and took flight, flying quickly over the racetrack. But before she could turn invisible the galvantula fired off a second electroweb, the sudden electric shock from the attack startling her so much she fell out of the sky.

Fox and his pokémon quickly vaulted over James and Sis, jumped over the barriers and began charging across the track as the crowd and the race stewards _finally_ began to react.

"Owwwww... son of a-!" James groaned as he picked himself up and rubbed his throbbing nose. As his brain caught up with what had just happened, he turned sharply around in time to see Fox and his galvantula finish encasing their helpless prey in electrical webbing.

"Sis, we gotta get down there and help!" he told her just as she pulled off the webbing form her face.

'For once, I agree!' Linking arms, Sis teleported them from the stands and onto the track several feet away from their foe.

"Leave her alone!" James shouted to Fox, plucking two Poké Balls from his belt.

"I was going to leave _you_ alone Wilson, but now you've left me with _no choice!_ " Fox stuck a hand inside his suit, and much to James's alarm he pulled out a silver handgun, levelling the weapon right at him.

"Oh shi-!"

The gun fired. James closed his eyes.

'Pssh, guns _never_ work well against psychics.' He opened them again to find a shimmering pink barrier in front of him, which had stopped the bullet from hitting him just in time. Scowling, Fox lowered the gun and threw out two Poké Balls of his own, producing a cryogonal and a houndoom.

"Kill Wilson!" He ordered his pokémon, and they eagerly obeyed, moving quickly towards James and Sis.

"Red alert!" Out came Drew and Muscles, both quickly being filled in on the situation by Sis as they readied themselves for battle.

The cryogonal struck first, firing an ice beam at Drew which was timely blocked by one of Sis's barriers. Muscles charged ahead with a superpower and just missed the houndoom, his fist causing the tarmac to crumble as he left a small crater.

As for the galvantula, it remained watchful of it's prey whilst Fox raised his gun towards a group of security guards and their pokémon, who tried to take cover as he fired at them.

James was about to make an executive decision when he was interrupted by the roar of a car's engine. Turning sharply around, he saw a black van come speeding down the track towards them, heading straight for his team!

"LOOK OUT!" He bellowed, and everyone- friend and foe alike -were quickly forced to dive out of the way of the speeding van as it barrelled past, coming to a screeching halt next to Fox. The rear doors opened, and two men wielding assault rifles jumped out, aiming them at the charging security forces.

'Sis, everything's going to hell! These guys are armed and _everything!_ ' He explained to her through their link as he sent out Majesty to help out with the battle.

'I saw that! James, we need to leave _right now._ ' He turned to see Sis struggle to maintain the barriers protecting him and their team, before glancing back at the armed men.

'I have an idea.'

'James-!'

'The team can hold their own for a second! Just get them to group up and ready for extraction, because we need to go pick up someone first.'

He moved closer to Sis, linking his arm with hers as realisation dawned on her strained face. 'Clever boy.' He could practically feel the smile through the link as she collapsed her barriers and teleported them away.

They reappeared right next to the cocooned Legendary and the galvantula, who seemed very surprised by their sudden appearance. Its hesitation provided Sis with enough time to power up and fire off a moonblast, sending the bug flying off of its prey but also drawing the attention of the men with _guns._

"No! Wilson's _behind us!_ " the Boss shouted angrily, turning his gun round to point it at James, but he was too late. By the time he had a shot lined up, James and his gardevoir had already teleported away, along with their target. He swivelled to face Wilson's pokémon in time for him to reappear amongst them, before the _entire group_ vanished into thin air. He stood there flabbergasted, before dropping his gun and falling to his knees.

" _WILSOOOOOON!_ " the Boss howled into the sky, as his fellow colleagues surrendered to the heavily armoured SWAT team that was surrounding their position.

* * *

With an audible _pop,_ they all appeared in a heap inside James's rather _small_ hotel room in some uncomfortable positions.

"Ow, dangit! Return guys!" It took a bit of wiggling, but Sis was able to send Muscles, Drew and Majesty back into their Poké Balls, leaving James and Sis lying on the floor. "Let's not do that again."

'Agreed.' They both lay there for a brief second, before quickly rising up to their feet.

"Where's Red?!" James asked, looking around frantically but there was no sign of the Legendary in the room.

'I'll check the bathroom!' Sis told him before teleporting away. Scanning the room for any sign of her, James went out on a limb and moved to the wardrobe, opening the doors to see if she might've been teleported in there. Sure enough, she had been, and the cocooned Legendary toppled out and on top of him, sending them both to the floor.

"Found her...!" James groaned.

Sis 'ported back in and quickly levitated the helpless Latias off of James and onto the bed, where with Drew's help they were able to remove the webbing and free her.

As soon as she was free, she stretched her body and cooed happily, floating over to nuzzle James's face whilst he returned Drew again.

'She says thanks for saving her,' Sis told him as she disposed of the webbing, teleporting it away.

"I gathered as much," James said, giving the thankful Legendary an awkward pat on the head.


End file.
